Have you ever had that feeling that God wants you to do something? Lately, I have had
this feeling that God wants me to tell my story. I don’t know why it was laid upon my
heart to tell it. I guess I really don’t need to know why. Nor do I offer any apology for
doing so. For did not Christ say, “Go home and tell your friends what great things the
Lord has done for you.”? But, in reality, I have been reticent to tell my story, to interject
any part of me into God’s story. It doesn’t seem to be the thing to do in modern
theology. But the apostolic preachers had no such constraint, for their sermons were
full of their own experiences.
I’ve just had this nudge over the last several weeks. But I wanted to make sure that it
was God and not my own ego. So I prayed that God would let me know if this was truly
His will. Night after night, I thought about it and prayed about it, but no answer came. I
could not understand why God would not give me an answer. Then, last Saturday, the
answer came. I could never describe to anyone how I knew, but there was no mistaking
it. I know those of you who have had such experiences in prayer will understand what I
am talking about.
I pray that what I have to say might help one of you and, at the same time, lead me to a
more complete surrender to the will of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Within the
Lectionary reading for this week, I found my answer. You see, the Blind Bartimaeus
story could also be my story.
Blind Bartimaeus, sitting by the side of the road, begging for mercy. We hear his cry,
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” We hear his cry and, quite frankly, it’s just
another beggar on the highway of life. My brothers and sisters in Christ, I know what it’s
like to be on the side of the road. I know what it’s like to have people pass you by like
so much litter on the highway. I know what it’s like to have the rich, the well-educated,
religious folks cross the road rather than interact with you. My brothers and sisters in
Christ, Jesus hears our plea for mercy. But there was a time that I didn’t think so.
You see, I grew up in the poor side of town. I grew up watching my Father drink himself
to death. I grew up in the yelling and the screaming of an alcoholic family. I grew up
watching people make fun of us poor folks. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
I was determined to overcome that beggar’s beginning. I began working a full time job
at 13 because my family didn’t have any money. I worked and I slaved to get my
education. I didn’t want to be a beggar all my life. After high school, I went to USM and
worked 3 part-time jobs to pay for my education. I loved God, but I couldn’t find time for
religion. After all, I had to make it in this cruel world. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy
on me.
After college, I went right into the military. I really didn’t have a choice. I got one of
those special invitations to join from my Uncle Sam. I worked hard to become the best
that I could be. I devoured book after book on every subject under the sun. I went in
early and stayed late. I became a master in the art of war. It wasn’t long before I was
known as the best of the best. I was rated in the top 5 percent of my peers. Before long,
I was being groomed for a star.
In 1978, I took command of the largest company in the Army. Three previous
commanders had been fired because they couldn’t handle the pressure. So, the Army
sent me to take command. I was at the top of my craft, a soldier’s soldier. My wife was
6 months pregnant with our third child. I had blessings upon blessings. I loved God, and
I thanked God for my blessings, but I just didn’t have a lot of time for church. I had my
nation and my family counting on me.
It was within this context that I walked into the Doctor’s office on July 7th, 1978. These
are the words that put me back on the side of the road, begging for mercy. “Robert,
you’ve got terminal cancer. We’ve detected the presence of embryonal cell carcinoma
and anaplastic seminoma. You’ve waited too long to seek treatment. There is no cure.
You need to go home and get your affairs in order.” You will be dead in less than five
years. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
All of a sudden, I found myself as a non-person once again. The Army had no place for
the dead and the dying. The Army began the paperwork to transfer me out. Here I was,
my wife was 6 months pregnant, and I was being processed out of the Army to die.
Within a couple of days, I was snatched from the arms of my family and sent to
Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco. I would have one major operation and then
be sent home with a 100 percent disability. I would be sent home to die. I picked up my
Bible and began to make peace with God. You see, I realized a talked a good story, but
I didn’t live up to my words. I had a lot to ask forgiveness for. Jesus, Son of David, have
mercy on me.
Once again, I found myself alone and on the road, begging for mercy. And yet, I was
not alone for long. The Army placed Chris in the bed next to me. Chris was a 19 year
old soldier. He had gone to a rock concert, gotten a little high, and tried to get back to
base. On the way home, Chris had to cross a train yard. In his drug induced haze, Chris
believed he was behind enemy lines. He tried to low crawl across that train yard. He
almost made it. But a passing train took Chris’ legs off just above the knee. Jesus, Son
of David, have mercy on Chris.
As the paramedics wheeled Chris into that emergency room, they asked him if he had
used any drugs. They told him that they needed the information in order to save his life.
And so, Chris admitted to using drugs. Immediately, the hospital nurse called the
military police. Chris had broken the law. He had to pay for his crimes. After all, there is
no place in the Army for a drug addict, especially one with no legs. Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on Chris.
When the police came, they told Chris that he would be court-martialed, thrown out of
the military, made to repay all of the medical costs, and possibly spend some time in
Jail. Chris found himself on the side of the road. But Chris didn’t know Jesus. And so
his cry was, “Someone kill me. I can’t live without any legs. I don’t want to live. My life is
not worth living.” I couldn’t stand to see his pain. And so my prayer became, “Jesus,
Son of David, have mercy on Chris.”
Chris looked over at me one day, and asked what I was reading. I answered, “The
Bible.” Chris then asked if I went to church. It was at that point that I prayed that Jesus
would give me the words that would tell Chris about my Jesus. I have no idea what I
said. But I do know that we talked. And at some point in our conversation, Chris gave
his heart to Jesus. Chris prayed, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” And just
like in the story of Blind Bartimaeus, Jesus healed Chris. Now, Jesus didn’t give Chris
new legs, but he did give Chris a new heart. Jesus had mercy on Chris.
Shortly after Chris’ conversion, I was sent up to surgery. I spent 18 hours on the table.
The doctors removed all of my insides to get to the lymph nodes that are located along
the inside of the backbone. During surgery, my heart stopped 5 times. The Army didn’t
think I would make it. So, they stationed a death notification officer in the waiting room
with my wife. When I finally made it out of surgery, I was taken to the recovery room
where I promptly passed a blood clot into my lung. The doctors gave me Heparin to thin
the blood and dissolve the clot. It was at that point that I started hemorrhaging. So they
doctors started giving me blood.
Somewhere during the middle of all this, I felt a tremendous peace come over me. I
knew that I was going to die and it didn’t matter. I knew that Gail and the kids would be
fine. And I knew that I was going to be alright because Jesus was waiting for me. And
then, I heard my name being called. It was Chris. He was standing in the doorway of
the recovery room. He was standing on his brand new, artificial legs. Chris said,
“Robert, Jesus sent you to me when I needed a friend. And now, Jesus is sending me
to you because you need a friend.” From that moment on, I began to get better.
After a couple of weeks, my doctor came into my room. He told me that the biopsies on
my lymph nodes came back. What the biopsies revealed was that the cancer had
disappeared from my body. The Army didn’t know what to do. There was no cure for
cancer. And yet, they couldn’t discharge me because I no longer had cancer. So, typical
of the Army, they left the diagnosis and treatment section blank. They sent me back to
the Army. They sent me back to resume my career. What they didn’t realize was that
my career was now in Christ. My brothers and sisters, let me assure you that Jesus
hears our pleas for mercy.
But what about Chris? Well, Chris and I left the hospital at the same time. I went back
to finish my career and Chris received an general discharge from the Army. He didn’t
have to repay his medical costs. But the Army would not be responsible for his long
term care. But Chris got something the Army didn’t expect. Chris was no longer blind
and sitting on the side of the road. He saw Jesus and began to follow Him. Chris left the
Army with a girlfriend who loved him and a Messiah who loved him even more. Jesus
has mercy on those who ask for it.
My friends, Bartimaeus was not the only blind person on that road to Jerusalem. Many
people on that road were blind. They had Jesus right in their midst, but were blind to his
presence. Jesus was there to help them. But they just couldn’t see. Even today, many
people are blind to the presence of Jesus. They wander the road of careerism, of
selfishness, of secularism. They become blind to the needs around them. They wander
through life as if they were really blind. They wander around being miserable because
they are without Christ in their lives.
My brothers and sisters, Jesus can walk into the darkness of your world just as he did
that day on the road to Jerusalem. But you need to recognize him for who he is. Some
people see him as a prophet, a saint, or a miracle worker. Some come asking Jesus for
money. Hey brother, can you spare a dime or maybe a million or two? The pop theology
of today says that the more God loves you, the more stuff he gives you. If this is true,
then the physically and spiritually blind are still with us.
But some recognize Jesus for who he is. They know Jesus as the Son of David. They
know Jesus as God’s only Son. They have faith to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have
mercy on me.” And when Jesus answers, “What do you want from me?” They reply, “I
want to see.” Jesus, Son of David, has mercy on all who call out his name.
Jesus is passing by here today. Do you know him? Do you know that He is God’s only
Son? Do you know that He has a that wisdom greater than all of our scholars? Do you
know that Jesus gives sight to the blind? Do you know that “Jesus, Son of David, has
mercy on all those who ask?”
Some of you have a need. Some of you are sitting on the road. Won’t you just raise
your voice and ask Jesus, the Son of David, to have mercy on you? Won’t you let go of
your burdens and let Jesus carry them for you? Don’t you want a personal relationship
with Jesus the merciful? My brothers and sisters, won’t you give your heart to Jesus?
Ask Jesus to be merciful to you and you will receive his mercy. I promise.
This is the word of the Lord for the people of the Lord. Amen.
