2026.05.17 | Empowerment

 “Changemakers: Empowerment”
Mark 10:46-52
Preached by 
Rev. Dr. Marvin Lance Wiser
Eden United Church of Christ  
Cherryland, CA 
17 May 2026

Our Changemakers series began with Jesus sending the Samaritan woman, someone marginalized, becoming the first apostle to her community, carrying good news back to the very people who once rejected her. And today, on Ascension Sunday, we end our series with another image of empowerment. Jesus ascending.

For many people, the Ascension can feel strange or distant, Jesus lifted into the clouds and disappearing from sight. But the Ascension is not about Jesus abandoning the world. It is about Jesus entrusting the work to us. It is the moment where Jesus says: “Now you go. Now you lead. Now you become my body in the world.” The Ascension is empowerment.

And I think that connects deeply to Bartimaeus in Mark’s Gospel. Bartimaeus is sitting by the roadside, marginalized, overlooked, dependent on the mercy of others. And when he begins to cry out to Jesus, the crowd tries to silence him. “Be quiet,” they say. Stay in your place. Don’t make a scene. 

But Bartimaeus refuses to be silenced. He shouts louder. 

And I think that matters, because so many systems in our world still function by keeping people on the margins unheard, unseen, and excluded from the decisions that shape their lives. We’ve all been the recipient of that at some point in our lives, “Shhh, pipe down. You're making a scene. This isn't your moment. Wait your turn. Know your place. Stay where you belong.”

But Jesus stops. And notice this: Jesus does not simply toss Bartimaeus a coin and move on. Jesus invites him into dignity and participation. “What do you want me to do for you?”

Jesus treats Bartimaeus not as a problem to manage, but as a person with agency. Jesus asks him: “What do you want me to do for you?”

That question is about dignity. Agency. Participation. Empowerment.

Not: What do I think you need? Not: Here's what our program offers. But: What do YOU want? Empowerment is creating the conditions where people can participate fully in shaping their own future and community. This is the theology of the changemaker. This is what it means to center those most affected by the systems we seek to change.

Nuestra serie «Agentes de Cambio» comenzó con Jesús enviando a la mujer samaritana —alguien que en su momento estuvo marginada— a compartir las buenas nuevas con su comunidad. Y hoy, en el Domingo de la Ascensión, concluimos con otra imagen de empoderamiento: Jesús ascendiendo y confiándonos la obra a nosotros. La Ascensión no es un abandono; es Jesús diciendo: «Ahora vayan ustedes. Ahora tomen ustedes el liderazgo».

Esto conecta profundamente con Bartimeo en el Evangelio de Marcos. Aunque la multitud intentó silenciarlo y mantenerlo en los márgenes, Bartimeo clamó de todos modos. Y Jesús se detuvo. En lugar de hablar por él o decidir lo que él necesitaba, Jesús preguntó: «¿Qué quieres que haga por ti?».

Esa pregunta trata sobre la dignidad, la autonomía y la participación. El empoderamiento significa poner en el centro a aquellos más afectados por los sistemas fallidos y crear comunidades donde las personas puedan participar plenamente en la construcción de su propio futuro.

Some stories we tell resonate deeply with empowerment. You recall Mirabel Madrigal. In Disney’s Encanto, she is the only one in her Colombian family with no magical gift—or so she thinks. En Encanto, de Disney, Mirabel cree que no posee ningún don, mientras que todos a su alrededor parecen especiales. While everyone else has a power the community can see and celebrate, Mirabel has only herself. And yet she is the one who holds the family together. Y, sin embargo, ella se convierte en quien ayuda a sanar y unir a su familia. She is the one who asks the hard questions, who runs toward the cracks instead of away from them. Her magical gift is her ability to unite and empower her family through love and support. Su don consiste en ayudar a los demás a reconocer la fortaleza y el valor que ya llevan dentro. Eso es empoderamiento. That’s empowerment. Helping people recognize the sacred worth and power already within them. That’s what healthy community does. 

Ted Lasso knows this too. When he arrives in England — an American football coach handed a soccer club nobody believes in — his superpower is not strategy. It's his radical, irrepressible belief in people. El superpoder del entrenador Ted Lasso no es la estrategia, sino su fe en las personas. Ted often quoted: “Be curious, not judgmental,” and would have one word posted above his office door: “Believe.” «Sé curioso, no prejuicioso», dice, mientras la palabra «Creer» cuelga sobre la puerta de su oficina. Ted no ve personas rotas, sino personas que aún no han reconocido su propio valor y potencial. Ted doesn't see broken players. He sees people who have not yet been seen or who do not yet see themselves correctly. Ted’s leadership is not rooted in domination, fear, or control. He believes in people before they believe in themselves. He creates a culture where others can grow, heal, lead, and flourish. Eso es empoderamiento: crear una comunidad donde las personas puedan crecer, sanar, liderar y florecer.

Church, this is exactly the kind of work we are trying to embody through the Eden Power Collective and throughout all our four pillars. Este es el tipo de trabajo que buscamos encarnar a través de la Colectiva de Poder Edén. Es la teología de Bartimeo en acción: las personas más afectadas por los sistemas fallidos no son problemas que deban solucionarse, sino líderes a quienes se debe poner en el centro; voces que ninguna multitud debería silenciar. The EPC is what Bartimaeus theology looks like in action. It is built on the conviction that the people most affected by broken systems are not problems to be solved. They are leaders to be centered. Leaders no crowd should hush. 

It’s why our partnership with the Bridgespan Group, one of the leading social-impact consulting organizations in the country, matters so much right now. Right now we are honing our Theory of Change, clarifying not only what we do, but why we do it and how transformation happens.

Por eso, nuestra colaboración con Bridgespan Group cobra tanta importancia en este momento. Estamos aclarando no solo lo que hacemos, sino por qué lo hacemos y cómo ocurre la transformación: pues, las personas más afectadas por los sistemas fallidos deben ayudar a dar forma a las soluciones. Estos son los cimientos que estamos sentando ahora, mientras nos preparamos para un proceso de planificación estratégica inclusivo para el próximo capítulo de la Iglesia Edén, que comenzará este otoño.

And at the center of that work is a simple but radical conviction: the people most impacted by the systems we seek to change must be at the center of shaping the solutions.

Not spoken for. Not managed from a distance. Not treated as projects.
But empowered as leaders, wisdom keepers, changemakers, and beloved children of God.

That means parents becoming advocates.
Neighbors becoming organizers.
Young people becoming leaders.
Community members becoming decision-makers.

That’s empowerment.

Not charity alone, but participation.
Not dependency, but belonging and leadership.

That’s the groundwork we are laying with Bridgespan. The spadework before the seed goes in. And this fall, we are going to plant something. We will be embarking together on an inclusive strategic planning process for Eden's next chapter. It’s already been a decade since our last strategic plan. Can you believe it?

And church, I believe this is an exciting moment. Because strategic planning is not just about documents or goals or charts. It is about discernment. It is about asking: Who are we becoming? Where is the Spirit leading us? What kind of beloved community are we building together? What do we want to be celebrating a few years from now?

And the answer cannot come from one pastor, one board, or one committee alone. We empower one another to participate fully. Any plan must be an inclusive one. That’s congregational polity.

Este es un momento emocionante. La planificación estratégica no se trata solo de metas o documentos; se trata de discernimiento. ¿En qué nos llama Dios a convertirnos? ¿Qué clase de comunidad amada estamos construyendo juntos? Y la respuesta nos pertenece a todos. Eso es la vida de una iglesia congregacional. Nos empoderamos mutuamente para participar plenamente en el futuro de Edén. Por eso, las promesas financieras que hoy dedicamos tienen una importancia tan profunda. Una promesa es más que una ofrenda económica; es un compromiso de alianza con la misión, la visión y el futuro de esta comunidad amada.

That’s why the pledges we dedicate today as we culminate our pledge campaign matter so deeply. A pledge is not simply a financial transaction. It is an act of shared ownership in God’s future. It is a covenant promise we make to one another and to God about the kind of community we are becoming. It is saying: “I believe in this mission. I believe in this vision. I want to help build a community where people are not silenced at the roadside, but invited into healing, dignity, transformation, and leadership.” 

Bartimaeus received his sight, and immediately, the text says, he followed Jesus along the road. Not back to the roadside. Not back to the margin. Along the road. As a disciple. As a changemaker. Like Bartimaeus, we are called into the movement, into building the beloved community of belonging.

And the good news today is this: Jesus is still stopping to listen to voices the world tries to silence. And through communities like Eden, God is still empowering ordinary people to become changemakers.

That is the profound gift of the Ascension: Jesus leaves on purpose. Not because the work is done, but because the work is now ours. The Ascension is not abandonment; it is the ultimate act of empowerment. Jesus hands the mission to us, trusts us with it, and sends the Spirit to sustain us in it. We started this series with Jesus sending a Samaritan woman to be the first evangelist. We end it with Jesus ascending and lifting all of us into the calling. May we then, like Mirabel, Ted, and Bartimaeus have faith in each other and ourselves. Amen.