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God's Rag-tag Band

by Christine E. Blair, Associate Pastor

6 October 2002--- Ordinary 27

TEXT: Mark 10:46-52

© 2002 C. E. Blair

A favorite little essay of mine goes like this:

"I think God must be very old and very tired.... God's been on the march a long time, you know. And look at God's rag-tag little army! All God has has for soldiers are you and me. Dumb little army. Listen! The drum beat isn't even regular. Everyone is out of step. And there! You see? God keeps stopping along the way to pick up one of God's tinier soldiers who decided to wander off and play with a frog, or run in a field, or whose foot got tangled in the underbrush. God will never get anywhere that way. And yet, the march goes on.

Do you see how the marchers have broken up into little groups? Look at that group up near the front. Now, there's a snappy out fit... –at least they're in step with each other. Only they're not wearing their shoes. They're carrying them in their hands. Silly little band. They won't get far before God will have to stop again.... And God means to take every last on of the tiny soldiers with us.... And, after all, there are frogs and flowers, and thorns and underbrush along the way. And even though our foreheads have been signed with the sign of the cross, we are only human. And most of us are afraid and lonely... and we can't seem to trust God...."

(Adapted from Martin Bell's "God's Rag Tag Army" in his book, The Way of the Wolf).

Every time I read the Gospel of Mark I think of this image of God, a general at the head of a raggedy, child-like army or band.

In today's Gospel, that is what Jesus has been doing, recruiting a band of disciples that no sane person trying to change the world would recruit. By the time we hear of Bartimaeus, Jesus has a few reputable followers:

• poor fishermen like Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee; or the synagogue leader, Jairus, whose daughter he heals.

But mostly he is being followed by the disreputable (for even the sick were thought to have sinned as a cause of their illness);

• People like Levi, a tax collector, hated for his corrupt practices and his cooperation with the occupying forces; prostitutes and people called "sinners" ;

• People who are demon-possessed, those perhaps whom we would now call epileptics, among others, such as the Gerasene demoniac and the daughter of the Syro-Phonecian woman;

• And, of course, many people who were ill, the woman with a flow of blood that made her unclean for 12 years; lepers, who had had to live apart from ordinary people because of their leprosy; a man with a withered hand; a deaf man; the blind man at Bethsaida, and now, as a finale, blind Bartimaeus.

• He also is being followed by poor villagers with little education and few resources.

What kind of an army, or a band of followers is this? What can God hope to accomplish with this poor group? They don't even like each other; how can they work together? How can they help God change the world into God's kingdom of justice and mercy, love and peace?

If I were going to change this world I would do it differently:

• If I were in charge, I would recruit the rich and powerful, like Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, or movie stars with lots of money or fame like Harrison Ford or Catherine Deneuve; these people would be able to finance messages on all the world's TV channels and all the radio channels, even on MTV and Canal Plus; they could use their money to pressure governments and armies to work for peace and justice.

But Jesus does not do this: he chooses the poorest ones, like Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, who lives and begs by the side of the road. That's like recruiting the poor souls who have staked out the territory of doorways on Rue St. Dominique from which to beg! I wonder why?

• If I were in charge, I would recruit world leaders known for their work for justice and peace, such as Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, the leaders of Iceland, Norway, and I would even search out the political heads of state from around the world, such as Bush and Blair and Hussein and so forth, as well leaders of Congress, the Assemblée National and other such bodies.

But Jesus recruits not one political leader. I wonder why?

• If I were in charge, I would recruit smart, educated women and men who think and write and can shape the minds of the younger generation. But Jesus' followers, with the exception perhaps of the synagogue leader and a couple of others, probably cannot even read or write. I wonder why? What do they have that pulls them to Jesus and makes them part of God's little band, a band called to help change the world?

This is indeed a strange army of people, a strange group of people definitely destined out to get tangled in thorns, to get scared, to go in circles. Why are they the first in Jesus' band?

As we look at the stories closely, we see some characteristics they have in common with each other:

• First, they know they need help. As Jesus said himself, those who know they need him reach out to him and hear his call. The beggars, the prostitutes, even the crooks want and accept Jesus' healing with faith. Those of us who know we need help are able to call out and ask for healing. We see the need we have for God's healing touch in Jesus Christ and are able to turn to him.

• Second, they don't think too much of themselves or of the accepted methods of having power in the world. They don't have the wealth, education or political clout to do much, so they are able to lean on God's power. We rely too much on our power: our education, our money, our abilities, our social standing. But those of us who have painfully learned the limits of our own powers and possibilities are forced to lean on God and are able to learn a new understanding of power, God's unexpected, gentle and transforming power, in this world.

• Third, they delight in being transformed into the person they are supposed to be and exercising their new-found gifts. The tax collector follows Jesus: I bet he helped with the finances of the little troop. Many of the healed became missionaries and evangelists. Others served the needs of the disciples with food and service. God is calling for us to be who we really are, using the gifts that we have, doing what we are good at doing. God heals us and transforms us over time into the fully human, unique, and gifted person we each are and asks us to contribute these gifts to God's work in this world.

Faith, humility, accepting our gifts: that is all God asks from us. God calls us to be part of this odd band of people, to be part of a family that is made of brothers and sisters we might not normally associate with. God understands that we might be lost or lonely, that we might feel powerless and incompetent. It does not matter; I repeat, it does not matter -- it does not matter how incompetent or wounded or useless we feel. God calls each one of us in Jesus Christ; God heals us of the shadows, the hurts and wounds inside us and invites us to join the little band on its journey. God helps us on the way, God will not leave any of us behind, and in the process, somehow, the world is changed.

"Listen! The drum beat isn't even regular. Everyone is out of step. And there! You see? God keeps stopping along the way to pick up one of the tinier soldiers who decided to wander off and play with a frog, or run in a field, or whose foot got tangled in the underbrush. God will never get anywhere that way!

And yet, the march goes on... And God plans to take every last one of the tiny soldier with us..."

We are on the way with God, and God will be with us, untangling our feet from the underbrush and guiding us when we get lost. Can you accept God's call and love of you, just as you are now?

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