When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”

–Mark 10.47-49

• If you feel like you know who you are? How do you think other people see you?
• What’s something you want so much that you’re willing to part with what you already have? What would that be?
• When you think about Jesus what title would you give to him? Does it adequately reflect how you understand him?
• Do you understand your faith as ‘insurance,’ something to keep you safe in difficult times or do you understand faith as an offering, something you give that benefits others and makes you cheerful in giving? How might Jesus invite you to think of your faith today?

Bartimaeus asks Jesus to change his identity, and Halloween is a time we like to do that if only for a night. Sometimes we pick costumes that reflect who we’d like to imagine we are or could be, sometimes our costumes reflect a part of ourselves that we have trouble showing others, and sometimes our costumes identify a part of ourselves that we try to hide or manage or ignore. Whatever your Halloween costume is this year I invite you to put it on and come join us Sunday night at 6pm. Every year, at this time, we make our Sunday Eucharist and supper a costume Eucharist and supper (aka Boocharist). It’s a way to acknowledge the delight and joy we take in gathering together, and gathering with Jesus who is all about making things new. What better way than to begin a new week of transformation than being together and sharing in the prayers and in a delicious dinner, no matter who we might think ourselves to be.