{"id":4085,"date":"2015-10-24T20:09:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-25T01:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/?p=4085"},"modified":"2015-10-24T20:30:21","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T01:30:21","slug":"christ-twice-asked-what-do-you-want-me-to-do-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/2015\/10\/christ-twice-asked-what-do-you-want-me-to-do-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Christ Twice Asked: What Do You Want Me To Do For You?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Lamp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Three wishes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all fantasized about finding that magic lamp, the one\u00a0that could suddenly change everything, the one that would\u00a0solve all of our earthly problems.<\/p>\n

Whether for\u00a0an abundance of riches, overnight fame, or perhaps everlasting good health, the\u00a0thought often strikes us.<\/p>\n

Especially\u00a0since nothing\u00a0much else would be\u00a0required of us, other than our words.<\/p>\n

How great would that be?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a wonderful fantasy.<\/p>\n

Even two of the disciples succumbed to this easy temptation, as we saw last week.<\/p>\n

James and John approached Christ, as if believing by some magic of His they would be\u00a0transported to certain spiritual bliss, without any further effort of their own\u00a0(Mark 10:35<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\u201cTeacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.\u201d
\nHe replied, \u201cWhat do you wish me to do for you?\u201d<\/strong>
\nThey answered him, \u201cGrant that in your glory
\nwe may sit one at your right and the other at your left.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What do you wish me to do for you?<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

What they clearly lacked in understanding and faith, they surely made up for in audacity.<\/p>\n

And so they\u00a0were admonished \u2013 not only by Christ but by the other disciples as well.<\/p>\n

Today, just one week later,\u00a0the story\u00a0of blind Bartimaeus is recounted. Here we see a similar approach, and\u00a0the exact same question\u00a0posed by Christ\u00a0in response.<\/p>\n

Only this time, a different result\u00a0(Mark 10:46<\/a>):<\/p>\n

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, \u201cJesus, son of David, have pity on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.<\/p>\n

But he kept calling out all the more, \u201cSon of David, have pity on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus stopped and said, \u201cCall him.\u201d So they called the blind man, saying to him, \u201cTake courage; get up, he is calling you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.<\/p>\n

Jesus said to him in reply, \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The blind man replied to him, \u201cMaster, I want to see.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What do you want me to do for you?<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Simple, undeterred, unwavering, humble\u00a0faith.<\/p>\n

And Bartimaeus was cured.<\/p>\n

Now when analyzing this passage on its own, some commentators have wondered:<\/p>\n

What is it that <\/em>you would ask Christ if he stood before you<\/em>? For what spiritual blindness\u00a0would you seek a cure<\/em>?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Those are perfectly good questions, as far as they go.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0there may be something\u00a0a bit\u00a0more challenging going on here as\u00a0well\u00a0\u2013 if, that is,\u00a0we\u00a0see\u00a0some connection to last week\u2019s reading.<\/p>\n

John and James seem to have stepped forward out of both vanity and fear.<\/p>\n

Vanity because they wanted to be immediately raised up in\u00a0men\u2019s eyes (perhaps most especially in the eyes of the other disciples).<\/p>\n

Fear because they lacked faith enough on their own to commit to the hard road just before them.<\/p>\n

Although ostensibly concerned with things spiritual, theirs was a request \u2013 a demand, really \u2013 firmly rooted in the present, fully grounded in this world, and very much like our desire for that magic lamp.<\/p>\n

Bartimaeus, I think, understood things a bit differently.<\/p>\n

For he not only recognized Christ\u2019s extraordinary and divine\u00a0lineage (\u201cSon of David\u201d), but he also approached with great humility, with great faith, and seemingly without any fear of what was just ahead:<\/p>\n

Jesus told him, \u201cGo your way; your faith has saved you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

His was a humble request, focused well beyond the things of his day.<\/p>\n

He sought not magic from a lamp, but mercy, hope, and a love without end.<\/p>\n

So the challenge before us, I think, is not\u00a0only\u00a0how<\/em> would we respond to the question \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?,\u201d but\u00a0to first grasp whether<\/em> we have begun, finally, to align our will to His, and whether we have lifted our gaze\u00a0towards the heavens above.<\/p>\n

Before we dare answer that question, we need to know whether our hearts are truly ready to hear it.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0it\u2019s only in that way that we\u00a0might begin to understand what it means\u00a0to\u00a0utter those words which are\u00a0so deceptively easy to say, but which are so very difficult to make our own:<\/p>\n

Thy <\/em>Will Be Done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So no, it\u2019s not at all about magic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But it is all about faith.<\/p>\n

Peace<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain<\/p>\n

Theme Credit to Sister Mary McGlone<\/a>\u00a0(Most Especially For The Observation About The Dual\u00a0Questions)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three wishes. We\u2019ve all fantasized about finding that magic lamp, the one\u00a0that could suddenly change everything, the one that would\u00a0solve all of our earthly problems. Whether for\u00a0an abundance of riches, overnight fame, or perhaps everlasting good health, the\u00a0thought often strikes us. Especially\u00a0since nothing\u00a0much else would be\u00a0required of us, other than our words. How great would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1976,"featured_media":4086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nChrist Twice Asked: What Do You Want Me To Do For You?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three wishes. 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