Labels

This sermon was preached at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on October 29, 2006.

Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22)
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-52

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

It is the job of advertising and marketing people to put names on products for us to remember. You might remember this slogan, “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good.” The implication here is if you are going to saddle a product with the name “Smucker’s” you had darn well better make it a very, very good product. Considering their products have carried this moniker since 1897, it seems be working out pretty well for them.

So how did a company which produces such fine jams, jellies, peanut butter, and ice cream toppings (and you gotta love that Magic Shell stuff) come up with such a funny name? Like many other companies, it was named after its founder, in this case Mr. Jerome Monroe Smucker. And since that first day, the company has been operated under the family name, now four generations strong.[1]

Four generations of Smucker’s… this isn’t unusual in industry; many products are named after their founders. Then again, many of us are named after our founders. Take my name for example, Andresen. This has a Nordic variation on spelling, but its literal meaning is son of Andrew, or “Son of Man.”[2] As for Lucille Zimmerman, her last name comes from high middle German for “carpenter’s son.”[3] Also there is Alice Martinson. Martin is derived from Mars so Martinson can mean “Son of a Warrior.”[4] Some of our names seem fair enough, I suspect none of us have a problem with the meanings of our last names. If you have ever seen Alice work with a patient, you’d know she is a warrior herself.

Our gospel reading today has a lot of different labels. First comes a man identified as the Son of Timaeus. The word Timaeus is from the Aramaic meaning highly prized.[5] What a joy it would be to carry the name “highly prized” into the world. The one who bears this name would be welcomed and treasured. The person who has earned this name has received many blessings. Especially in ancient times, to have a son is a blessing, and Timaeus is blessed for having a son.

Unfortunately, this tag becomes ironic for his son, a blind beggar. The Son of Timaeus is forced to live in this irony, his name a mockery of his life. The blessings of Timaeus have not become the blessings of the son. The Son of Timaeus is left to the side of the road, only a cloak to his name. And truly all that he has is a cloak; he doesn’t even have a name of his own. Yes, we know him as Bartimaeus, but this Aramaic for Son of Timaeus. It is like being called “Junior.” We think that we know him so well, but in fact we don’t even know his name.

We learn in this passage that Bartimaeus carries the label “blind.” In scripture, this dreaded affliction is often the result of sin that can only be cured by God. Also possible is a curse which invoked blindness as a punishment for misconduct. While blindness makes life more difficult in our day and time, it is by no means the harsh affliction it was in biblical times. In Jesus’ time and place, poverty and hardship were the inevitable lot of the blind.[6] A man who is blind is not highly blessed. Being called Bartimaeus mocks him and his family.

This son of Timaeus has also become a beggar. Almsgiving is the responsibility of those who have been blessed by the Lord. Almsgiving is a means of giving thanks to the Lord for blessings received.[7] Oh, how the mighty have fallen: from being able to give generously to being forced to beg in one generation. The lot of this blind beggar Bartimaeus is cast in the way he is described by his label, a label so impersonal it does not even include his given name.

The next person who enters the story is Jesus of Nazareth. The first label he carries is a traditional name for biblical times. It is the name of the man and the city of his residence. He is Jesus of Nazareth. And at the time, Jesus was a very common name in Palestine, so having the city of residence is a way of differentiating him from all of the other men called Jesus.

But then we get a real kicker of a label, “Son of David.” This is a label! The Lord promised that it is the Son of David who will build the house of the Lord.[8] Of David it is written in the Psalms, “I will establish your descendants for ever, and build your throne for all generations.”[9] This is the first time in Mark’s gospel that the phrase “Son of David” has been used to describe Jesus. Other Messianic titles have been used, but this is the first time the words “Son of David” have identified Jesus of Nazareth. This is a momentous time of praise and affirmation.

These two labels, one very common and the other heavenly, describe our Lord in ways we have come to understand him. In this little exchange, Bartimaeus tells us—and he tells the world that Jesus is fully human—Jesus of Nazareth and fully divine—Son of David. As hard the concept of Jesus’ full and complete humanity and divinity is to grasp, it is fully and completely seen—by a blind man.

There is one more label given to Jesus in this story. Depending on the translation, Bartimaeus calls Jesus My Teacher, or Rabbi, or My Rabbi, or Rabboni.[10] Regardless of the translation, the blind man calls out to Jesus with a term of respect and reverence reserved for one of authority in the Synagogue. The word he uses is traditionally reserved for a religious leader. He cries out he wants to be healed by one with holy authority.

To think, the crowd was telling him to hush.

Blind Bartimaeus sees more than those who are sighted.

We all carry labels, some of them appropriate, some of them not. We are sons and daughters. We are mothers and fathers. We are siblings—brothers and sisters. Many of us are aunts and uncles. Some of us also carry these family relationships with grand or great-grand.

Many of us are identified by our jobs. Some of us work in health care, others in education, some in retail, others in service, and some in agriculture and others in food processing. Some of us are “retired” from work in the “real world” and work jobs that take far more time and energy than the “day job” ever did.

As for labels I have carried; for years, I have worn hats. This one is one of my favorites.[11] I purchased it at Brooks Brothers about 25 years ago and have worn it since. I have received similar hats, but this one fits me best. While working at the University of Arkansas, on a chilly day, people would see me walking in a trench coat and this hat and say, “Hey, Blues Brothers!” Well, I am a fan of John Belushi, and I might carry his shape, but this is not a pork pie hat like the one he wore in the movie and he didn’t wear a trench coat. Then one day a student of mine named Jeff saw me walking across campus, recognized me and cried out, “Hey, Uncle Buck!” I laughed out loud! He was right; it was definitely an Uncle Buck look and I am not unlike John Candy in character, shape, or demeanor.

What made this amazing was not that he was the only one who discerned this label (though he was), or the fact that he did it from fifty feet away (which he did). What was amazing is that he, like Bartimaeus, was blind. Jeff has only about 10% of his sight and saw only a narrow slit clearly. But on this bright sunny day, he was able to see my silhouette against the horizon, recognize me, and apply an apt label. Jeff was one of my favorite students because he showed me anything was possible with God.

This story is told by the PC (USA) Director of World Wide Ministries, the Reverend Doctor Marian McClure, in today’s entry in this year’s PC (USA) Mission Yearbook:

"Our inheritance contains not only the wealth of God’s grace but also the wealth of relationships our ancestors formed as they shared that grace in mission. One of my first experiences in discovering this heritage was during a trip to visit fellow Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Presbyterians have been involved in partnership well over one hundred years. I was meeting with some of the pastors to hear about ministries at the grassroots of that church.
"Suddenly I was informed that according to local custom the eldest man in the room was going to discern a new name for me in the Tshiluba language. An elderly pastor interrupted us to say, 'Her name is Mama Dinanga,' which means love. That sounded really good to me. But someone disagreed! He said, “Her name should be Hope!” With this disagreement in the air, a diplomatic pastor stepped forward and said, 'Dinanga is the right name, because her love is our hope.'"[12]

Labels, some are appropriate, others are not. Some cast us in embarrassing ways, like the blind beggar Bartimaeus. Others graciously hit the nail on the head like Mama Dinanga. Some are in transition; Bartimaeus was no longer a blind beggar after his encounter with the Living God. Others change over time; like a child becoming a parent becoming a grandparent. Others hold for generations like Smucker’s. But there are other labels we must consider. I want us to consider our labels here today.

There is one family relationship which we must never forget. The label we all carry, each and every one of us, is the adopted child of God. God claims us before time begins. We have been the children of God since before we were the children of our parents.

We are labeled members of the Body of Christ. We are identified with Christ in the waters of our baptism. In these waters we take the same mark Jesus took so long ago, a mark Jesus took that we may take it ourselves.

We have received the gift of God’s grace through faith. We share the wealth of God’s grace and the wealth of relationships formed through this shared grace.

We are called respond, to be labeled, as good stewards to the gift of God’s grace. As a church, we bear this label giving to those in need. This congregation has offered over one-sixth of this year’s annual budget to the needy through the denomination, the Loaves and Fishes foodbank, Project Self Esteem, and others. Some give time, talent, and treasure at the food bank or the hospital, the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network, and here at the church. We respond as good stewards of God’s bounty by giving alms in response to the world’s needs.

The love of God is our hope. With the love of God, it is my hope that if you haven’t, you will consider joining Christ in the waters of baptism.

It is my hope that if you haven’t, you will consider joining this part of the body of Christ.

It is my hope that you will be a good steward of the grace God so wonderfully offers.

It is my hope that if nominated you might consider the call of ordained ministry as an Elder.

It is my hope that you will consider responding by giving alms to the church that the work of the body of Christ may continue and expand.

It is my hope that we will all be like the sighted Son of Timaeus.

It is my hope that we will all be labeled highly prized.

And it is my hope that as we gain our sight, we will follow Jesus.

It is my hope that we will consider these old and new labels: member of Christ’s body, recipient of Grace by faith, steward, Elder, but first and foremost—Child of God.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuckers
[2] http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/a/bl_name-ANDRE.htm
[3] http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/z/bl_name-ZIMMERMAN.htm
[4] http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/m/bl_name-MARTIN.htm
[5] Strong’s Concordance, word number 5090, edition unknown.
[6] Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1962, “Blindness” entry.
[7] Ibid. “Alms” entry.
[8] 2Samuel 7:4-14
[9] Psalm 89:4
[10] In order, the New Revised Standard Version, the New International Version, the New Living Translation, and the New American Standard Bible
[11] A gray tweed hat from Block and Hatters made exclusively for Brooks Brothers.
[12] The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study, 2006. Louisville, KY: Presbyterian Distribution Service, PC (USA), 2005, page 304.