Last week's Sunday Bible reading from Mark's Gospel (Mark 1:29-39) is a compelling take on the early stages of Jesus' ministry. He heals Simon's mother-in-law, and then 'they' bring to him all who were sick or possessed with demons - and Jesus heals the sick and casts out the demons and those who are touched by his healing are restored. To see this miraculous work, we are told, the whole city crowded around the door. Is it any wonder?
When was the last time you had to find a good doctor? Have you ever moved to a new town and had to go through the torment of trying to find a physician you can trust? Or maybe, you've received an unexpected diagnosis that has forced you to seek out a specialist - someone whom you knew was specially trained and practiced at delivering the kind of care you needed. You want to know what their credentials are and you want good referrals.
If this is a familiar situation for you, then you night be able to relate to the people in that city who crowded around the door - trying to see just how powerful Jesus' healing could be - just how trustworthy he was. Because, in fact, there is not a single one of us who is not in need of some kind of restoration. There is not one of us who is already perfectly whole, perfectly healthy in mind, body, and spirit.
"Everyone is searching for you," his companions say to Jesus. And where they find him - more specifically what they find him at - is the signal to us all of the power that Jesus can bring into our lives. "And while it was still dark, he went out to a deserted place to pray." Jesus' complete union with God, and his ongoing communion with the Father, is the sign to us of the power that Jesus offered the people gathered around that door, and those who were in the neighboring towns and villages.
And that communion with God is the path that Jesus offers all of us today who still are seeking for restoration and for wholeness.
When was the last time you had to find a good doctor? Have you ever moved to a new town and had to go through the torment of trying to find a physician you can trust? Or maybe, you've received an unexpected diagnosis that has forced you to seek out a specialist - someone whom you knew was specially trained and practiced at delivering the kind of care you needed. You want to know what their credentials are and you want good referrals.
If this is a familiar situation for you, then you night be able to relate to the people in that city who crowded around the door - trying to see just how powerful Jesus' healing could be - just how trustworthy he was. Because, in fact, there is not a single one of us who is not in need of some kind of restoration. There is not one of us who is already perfectly whole, perfectly healthy in mind, body, and spirit.
"Everyone is searching for you," his companions say to Jesus. And where they find him - more specifically what they find him at - is the signal to us all of the power that Jesus can bring into our lives. "And while it was still dark, he went out to a deserted place to pray." Jesus' complete union with God, and his ongoing communion with the Father, is the sign to us of the power that Jesus offered the people gathered around that door, and those who were in the neighboring towns and villages.
And that communion with God is the path that Jesus offers all of us today who still are seeking for restoration and for wholeness.
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