Open the Eyes of Our Hearts

Blind Bartimaeus might be jumping for joy, had he read the news that the US Senate voted Thursday to pass Hate-Crime legislation that has extended its language to include protection for people who are targets for violent crimes due to their sex or sexual orientation. You see, Bartimaeus knew what it was like to be on the margins of society, crying out to Jesus. And he knew what it was like to have people (especially those who presumed to speak on the authority of Jesus) try to silence him.


This blind beggar refused to be defined by his "disability" or what others expected of him. He refused to be limited by what he "should or shouldn't" do. Bartimaeus refused to be silenced. He cried all the louder, And we are told, right there in the 10th chapter of mark that Jesus heard the cries of this man on the margins and asked him to "Come".

The Church (capital "c") is empowered with and burdened by an authority to "speak for Christ". Too often, there are still those who would silence the voices of those on the margins... those whose cries are easier to ignore.

Those might be the silent cries of abused children and women, who beg for no one to notice.... and pray for someone to notice. Or the shouts from the Sudan, where villages are exterminated in what can only be called what it is: genocide. Or the giggles and cries of children in worship... whose parents have felt shamed by annoyed glares and so finally choose to just stay home.

Those may be the cries of women who long to accept God's call to ministry in denominations that will not allow their voices to be heard.

Or the cries of so many broken-hearted people who simply long for a place to worship God where they will be welcomed without judgment because of who they are, where they are from or what path their lives have taken... immigrants... unwed mothers... gays, lesbians or transgendered persons...

Today, the voices of our congregations should join in giving praise that we are one step closer to "doing the right thing" in protecting those who have been marginalized, silenced and victimized due to some label that can never define them for who they really are: children of God. That is the only label that matters.

Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord, that we might hear and see the cries, and speak the only words you would give us authority to speak on your behalf: "Tell them to come."