Musical Prelude and Service.

Mark 10:46-52
So, today we take time to celebrate the way this community of faith, Grace United Church in Dunnville, has played a part in our lives. The ways Grace has contributed to the wider community. And in naming those ways this church has been a gift, we also take time to say thanks.
Through my education and experience, I have come to see one quality of the Holy spirit is that it offers us visions. As the spirit moves in and around us, we may be given a vision of who we are. Who we truly are. We are also offered the gift of another vision; who we are meant to be. How we are seen by God. A truly close and supportive community offers each of us with all our many and diverse personalities, the opportunity to grow into who we are moved to be. This community supports us, challenges and encourages us in our growth, to grow and to flourish.
I think we can all consider ways that Grace has been that community for each of us. Today we take time to say thank you.
And how does the story of Bartimaeus as we hear it in Mark’s gospel speak to that sense of gratitude?
In other gospels there is speculation around Bartimaeus and his blindness. Is it a result of his behaviour, his sin, or is it a consequence of the life of his parents?
But in Mark, we just learn that he is blind. Based on Bartimaeus’ words in his request, that “I can see, again,” we can presume he was not born blind. He lost his sight at some point.
What we know for certain is he is now blind. Blindness, like a great many forms of physical infirmity, can be a very real barrier to involvement in community. It can exclude you from the care and attention – the service offered by the community. It can also and frequently does exclude you from contributing – from participating. It leaves you on the outside, both physically and emotionally.
As I read the story this week, I find myself wondering about the community members around Bartimaeus.
I suspect they don’t see themselves as excluding him from their lives. I suspect like so many of us, that they see themselves as good and generous people. They view themselves as welcoming and caring for their neighbour. But over time we can lose sight of the people that don’t really participate or can’t participate.
Because at some point, when Jesus shows up, Bartimaeus decides it is time to speak up. Jesus have mercy on me. And the people try to silence him. They tell him to stop causing a disruption. Don’t interrupt things. Don’t call attention to yourself.
But Bartimaeus persists.
That sense of persistence shows up in other places in the gospel. In Luke Jesus tells a parable of the persistent widow, who doesn’t stop insisting upon justice, even as a judge does his best to ignore her demands.
Bartimaeus won’t stay silent, and Jesus responds.
And Jesus’ response is notable. “What do you want me to do for you?”
What do you want me to do for you? Jesus does not presume to know what Bartimaeus needs or what he desires. He’s Jesus. We could argue he knows what everyone needs. But Jesus asks him. Name what you need. Bartimaeus answers, I want to see again.
And Bartimaeus gets up and chooses to follow Jesus. He joins the community of followers that accompany Jesus on his journey.
Having been healed of the affliction that took his sight, Bartimaeus chooses to follow Jesus and serve along side all the other followers, the disciples who are learning and modelling their lives after that example set by Jesus. In his gratitude and awe, Bartimaeus dedicates his life to one of service.
As a community of faith in the United Church of Canada, we have encountered a great many questions over the years about who we welcome and how.
Initially when writing this sermon, I found myself going into a long and detailed discussion of the evolution of the church as a welcoming and increasingly inclusive body. But that can get pretty long and diverges from the reflection on how we respond to our community with gratitude.
To summarize, the United church of Canada first ordained a woman to ministry in 1936 in Saskatchewan. Her name wis Lydia Gruchy. The church first ordained a married woman in 1957 and approved the ordination of all married women in 1960.
The church voted in favor of ordaining openly gay and lesbian men and women in 1988 and the first gay man to be ordained, Tim Stevenson, was welcomed into ministry in 1991.
In each of these events the decision was met with intense opposition. Furthermore, the church did not reach these decisions on its own. We as a church arrived at these moments after persistent lobbying and conversation with the interested groups. People came to the church and answered the question, “What do you want for me to do for you?”
All too often the church acted like the community, or the followers who tried to silence Bartimaeus and protect Jesus from his calls for mercy.
I am grateful the church chose to respond with love and justice when faced with these choices.
I share these stories to reflect on the ways we often erect barriers, some very visible, others that can go unseen by the general populace from people fully participating in the life and work of our community. This is not meant as an indictment. I truly believe we desire to be open and welcoming to all who come to our doors.
But do we sometimes inadvertently lock the doors behind us or somehow fail to let people know where the doors even are?
We now as a local congregation find ourselves working on plans for how to be truly accessible. This is a result of provincial legislation on accessibility. It is one of the reasons we find ourselves planning for a project to upgrade our aging elevator. We also recognize that accessibility is a key to helping a great many people continue to participate and contribute to our community of faith. It is also the reason people who are part of the host of committees that keep this church functioning are reading an accessibility training booklet.
How do we welcome?
How do we exclude and how do we dismantle the barriers we may not even recognize are part of our community?
All of us came to be a part of this community in one fashion or another, and we made the decision to remain and to contribute for various reasons. In part because in the end we felt we belonged here, and we are grateful for that. We are grateful to this community for making space and saying Grace is better because you are a part of us.
And as we move forward into the future, I would urge us to keep asking the question. How are we welcoming people, and are there ways that we put up or ignore the barriers that remain?
I have now served this community of faith for a little over eight years. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am that you called me to Dunnville. I am grateful for the warmth and welcome this congregation continues to exhibit. I am touched by the love and the commitment to justice and learning that Grace has embraced over the years. I am consistently amazed at the generosity and openness I have witnessed here.
So when I extend this challenge, it is because I know you are open to listening and reflecting on what I say.
We may not always be aware of the barriers that might still be in place. We are never perfect, but we should always strive to be better. Can we continue to learn about barriers based on ability, on age, on gender, on sexuality? I believe we truly want to open our arms to everyone. But are we ready to listen when someone speaks?
Everyone who walks through our doors can contribute to making Grace the community we are and the community we desire to be. May we proclaim in the spirit of love and continue to clear a path for all to enter this place and experience that love, that compassion, that Grace. Amen
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789