Save Us!
So Jesus is walking along the countryside, minding His own business, doing his teaching thing, when some bystander dares to interrupt, “Save me!”
You’ll need an accomplice for this, but that should be easy to find.
Choose an object that will create a distracting annoyance.
You might have someone honk a horn or rattle a noisemaker. You can ask the organist to hit a foot pedal, seemingly by accident, but repeatedly.
If you have a self-assured 10-year-old in your congregation, he or she could play this role perfectly. Your accomplice can sit in his or her usual spot, but on cue create some kind of disruption. Your congregation is bound to react with a corrective frown the first time before they catch on. All the better to make your point.
Blind Bartimaeus wants to be noticed and isn’t about to be turned away by the well-meaning disciples or crowds. They just want him to shut and slip into the background where he has likely spent most of his life.
“Save me,” was his cry.
We’ve heard that cry before in this Gospel and in some of the Old Testament companion texts, especially the passages from Job and the Psalms. The cry is heard in steadily crescendoing tones. We will hear the cry again as Jesus enters Jerusalem. All propriety will be set aside. The crowds will shout together, “Hosanna!” Please, please, save us!
And then . .. Jesus will!
End your object lesson with one last sounding of the annoying noise or have your congregation shout “Hosanna!”
