Who Are You?

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Who are YOU in today’s reading?

The event taking place is described in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 2.  There is a lot we can talk about when it comes to this passage, but I’d like to have you put yourself in it and see where you fit.

When we do this occasionally with scripture, it increases the likelihood that we will learn something about ourselves.

So here are the people involved:

Jesus (we’ll just assume that’s not you!)

A crowd who gathered around when they heard he was home.  (They overflowed and were too large to even crowd around the door.)

The four men who brought the paralytic to Jesus.

The skeptical scribes who questioned how Jesus thought he could heal someone.  They doubted his authority and accused him of blasphemy.

The paralytic himself.

Where are you in this scene?

Let’s break these individuals down and dig a little deeper:

Are you among the curious crowd, just wondering who this Jesus is that people are always talking about?  Are you a curious bystander when it comes to hearing the Word of God proclaimed?

Or are you someone, like the four men, who tries to bring others to Jesus, even if you have to really work at it?  (The four men had to make an opening in a roof to lower down the mat the paralytic was lying on.)

Or maybe you are a skeptic.  You don’t rationally see how this faith stuff works and you certainly do not understand why anyone would believe that Jesus has divine authority and can heal people.

Finally, maybe you are the wounded, lying on a mat, just hoping that you will have an encounter with Jesus and be healed and have your sins forgiven.

Wherever you fit, allow your gained insight to help you mature in your faith, grow in your understanding and knowledge, and open yourself up to all that Jesus has to give.

There may be days you are curious, days you are an evangelizer and days where your doubts may surface.  

But, it is my opinion that for every one of us, most days, we are simply wounded people looking to have an encounter with Jesus and enjoying the love and mercy he so freely gives.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
janetcassidy.blubrry.net

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