Psalm 126; Mark 10:46-52

This week, Psalm 126 is paired with Mark 10:46-52.

Both readings are future-oriented and hopeful. They are a balm as we seek new life beyond Covid!

Read Psalm 126 as a kind of travelogue that marks the joyous end of an arduous journey. May it give you strength to continue to live wisely, kindly, and well.

Mark 10:46-52 is another story (like the one about Jesus blessing children) in which an interruption challenges disciples to be more welcoming and gracious. Who or what seems to be getting in the way of your life today? Are they possibly “holy interruptions”, challenging you to be more loving?

Jesus certainly “restored the fortunes” of Bartimaeus, to quote our Psalm reading. Where and how are you hoping God will restore your fortunes? Why not ask God to do so!

Here is another place in which a person with a disability (blindness) is miraculously healed by Jesus. Such passages challenge us — why cannot disabled and infirm people be healed like this today? Some traditions hold that, if we have the “right” kind of faith, such healings will happen. What if we read this as a foreshadowing story — telling us that what Jesus did for Bartimaeus during Jesus’ earthly ministry is an instance of a more comprehensive healing to come? Disability (and ability) take many forms — physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. How might we all be more like Bartimaeus than we think?