Reverend Raymond Osborne, Pastor

Please Note That Most Messages Follow
The Revised Common Lectionary

It was early in the morning when my cousins came to the house and took me into town. I always liked to get to Jericho early – that way I could catch all the early travelers. I know what you think. You pass by all these people standing or sitting on the medians of your fancy super highways holding signs that say “Homeless. Will work for food. God Bless” and you think they’re no good for nothings. The lowest of lowlifes. You even find yourself saying “I bet they make more money than I do.”

I don’t know what it’s like for them, I only know what it was like for me. I barely made enough to feed myself yet alone my family. There are a lot of differences between then and now. I was blind and in my culture, in my day a blind man was forced to become a beggar on the streets. And so everyday my cousins would come by and take me by the arm leading me to downtown Jericho, to the busiest street in hopes that I could feed my family.

Do you know what that was like? How humiliating it was and how demeaning it was to spend everyday of my life begging in order to just survive? Do you know how it feels to spend every waking moment dependent upon total strangers to just get some bread? Of course you don’t. I bet not one of you here today have ever had to beg for anything and if you have – you know what I felt like.

That was my life – at least until that day – the day when HE came by. I had heard about Him. I heard that He could make the lame to walk and caused the dead to rise. “Surely,” I thought to myself, “if He can do those things then HE can make me see.” Oh gosh how wonderful that would be; to see. I had ideas in my head of what things looked like. I’d often have people tell me what it was that they saw. But it was still hard for me to really imagine or create a picture in my mind. After all, how does one who has never seen know what blue looks like when someone describes the sky? How does one know what bright is when someone describes the sun? I knew what hot was though let me tell you it was hot that day.

The talk on the streets were that Jesus was coming to Jericho and if He was I knew He would have to walk past me and I promise you I was determined to get to Jesus.

I will never forget it. I heard the crowds coming. I heard the talking. I heard someone call His name, “Jesus, Jesus.” Oh you will never know how sweet it was to hear His name. I sat still, and I listened. I could hear better than most. Then it happened, I felt His presence. I can’t explain it, you’d have to be blind to understand it, but I felt Him right there beside me and with every ounce of strength I could muster I lunged myself out into the middle of the street screaming at the top of my lungs, “JESUS, SON OF DAVID HAVE MERCY ON ME!!!” Men began yelling at me, “wrth I Be QUIET!” I wasn’t sure He heard me and I sure wasn’t going to be quiet. THIS was my only chance – my last chance to have life, real life so I shouted even louder, “JESUS, SON OF DAVID HAVE MERCY ON ME!!!” Then someone came and took me by the arm, “Get up old man He wants to see you.” He heard me. He heard me. It was then I heard His voice for the first time. It was a gentle voice, a warm, soothing voice, yet it was authoritative. “What is it that you would like me to do for you?” “O master, teacher, I want to see.” Then I heard the words I will never forget, “Go your faith has made you well.” Immediately I could see! Do you know what was the first thing my eyes saw? Do you know? It was Him – Jesus. Oh what a Master! O what a Savior! Jesus gave me back my sight. Jesus changed my life for all eternity. He gave me back my dignity, my pride, my life. Amazing Grace how Sweet the Sound! I once was blind but now I see!

A lot of things have changed since then You all have become so educated and sophisticated. You are so wealthy and you probably don’t even know it. God has blessed you in so many ways. You have cars. You have what are they called? Computers? You have these funny little devices that let you talk to each other even when you are in your cars! But even though you are far more advanced than we were, there are still a lot of things that haven’t changed.

Your streets are filled with beggars just like ours were. In fact your churches are filled with people who are desperately needy. Not for money or material things – you have all of those, but what each and every person here needs that we needed even in my day, is a personal relationship with Jesus the Son of God.

I stand here today simply as a beggar trying to tell another beggar where to find bread. Jesus is the Bread of Life. He has totally changed my life and He can totally change yours if only you will let Him.

For the sake of an invitation this morning, I am going to step out of the role play for a moment. I remember years ago Doug I use to sing with a Southern Gospel Choir called the 3WC choir. There was a lady in that choir who was, like Bartimaeus, blind. She would sit on the stage and sing with the choir. Almost without fail at some point in the service, you could tell the Lord was all over her, if you know what I mean, she would slowly rise to her feet and Johnny Wishon would hand her the microphone. She would always say these words, “You know I’ve been blind since I was born. I have never known what it is like to look at a sunrise or sunset, a flower or a new baby. People get to feeling sorry for me and then I tell them, ‘Don’t feel sorry for me honey, because one day I’m going to see and the very first sight that my eyes will behold will be the face of my Savior. No sirree, don’t you feel sorry for me.’”

I want to do something I have never done here before and that is to issue you an invitation. There are a lot of things I don’t know in about Jesus, but this one thing I do know, Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with each and everyone in this place and if you don’t have that this morning, you can before you leave.

This alter is open for prayer. If you want to come and pray alone come. If you to come this morning and you want me to pray with you I will. I won’t get mad if you don’t come, I won’t throw a fit, I will love you no matter what. But I want you to know if you want to come it’s okay to come.

Let us pray:
Kum Ba Yah my Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Kum Ba Yah my Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Kum Ba Yah my Lord, Kum Ba Yah
O Lord, Kum Ba Yah

Someone’s praying Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Someone’s praying Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Someone’s praying Lord, Kum Ba Yah
O Lord, Kum Ba Yah

Someone’s crying Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Someone’s crying Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Someone’s crying Lord, Kum Ba Yah
O Lord, Kum Ba Yah

Someone needs you Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Someone needs you Lord, Kum Ba Yah
Someone needs you Lord, Kum Ba Yah
O Lord, Kum Ba Yah

We want to praise you Lord, Kum Ba Yah
We want to praise you Lord, Kum Ba Yah
We want to praise you Lord, Kum Ba Yah
O Lord, Kum Ba Yah

Amen

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