ArticleBlog | Where do you look when you long to encounter Jesus?
Where do you look when you long to encounter Jesus?
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 27.03.23
I led a small group exercise for Lectio Divina,1 the slow reading and reflection of a brief text. We took the story of blind Bartimaeus, recounted in Mark 10:46-52. Having read through the story a couple of times, each participant was invited to imagine themselves as a character within it. With a little encouragement, they relaxed and listened to me slowly narrate the story again, using their imagination to place themselves in it. the words. ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Whether we are preaching to a congregation, teaching, leading a small group, or responsible for some other form of ministry, our calling is to bring the words that open the way for people to encounter Jesus for themselves. Revelation is given
After a pause, a debrief followed. Each person was invited to share the character they had played and what they had sensed. One person seemed quite affected and tearful and was unable to share. A little later, she seemed to have recovered enough to explain her experience. She had chosen to be a person who ran to Bartimaeus and brought him to Jesus. Bursting into tears, she recounted her shock when Jesus said to her, ‘You thought you brought Bartimaeus to me. In fact, he brought you to me.’ That was an encounter with Jesus she will never forget.
People desperately need encounters with Jesus. The good news is that he wants an encounter with us, too. It might be a stunning or unexpected meeting; it might be the reassurance of a still, small voice. Drama is not the point. Jesus is the point.
People are not satisfied with words alone. Like the Greeks in John 12:20-21, they want to see the person behind the words. ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Whether we are preaching to a congregation, teaching, leading a small group, or responsible for some other form of ministry, our calling is to bring the words that open the way for people to encounter Jesus for themselves.
