Blog - Calling the Sinner: Jesus Forgives and Heals

You have your Bible and you’ve read chapter 1 of Mark’s Gospel. You’ve looked over the reflection questions and perhaps, maybe even spoke about them with a friend. Wonderful! Maybe you remember some of the food for thought, maybe you don’t. Maybe you remember what you read in Mark 1, maybe you don’t. I can’t remember what I had for lunch last Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean the meal wasn’t nourishing. Remember, we are not soaking up the Word of God to pass an exam or prove something to God or anyone else. God desires to speak to you, to help you, to bring hope, and He is guiding us while we read the Scriptures when we call upon the Holy Spirit to anoint our prayerful reading. 

    Now we enter Mark 2. Pray to the Holy Spirit to bless and anoint your reading of this chapter. Reflectively read the chapter. Underline passages that stand out to you; maybe those console you, excite you, or cause you to pause - underline them to return to them later. Then, go to the following reflection questions to review with a friend or ponder with your guardian angel:

    Questions for Reflection on Mark 2:

1. What were the signs Jesus saw in the friends of the paralytic of Mk. 2:1-12 that bore evidence of their faith that Jesus could heal their friend? How do our actual actions reveal what we really believe versus what we say we believe about anything? 
2. Mark 2:13-22 is one continuous story. The Pharisees join a party that Levi holds with Jesus and Jesus’ disciples as his guests. The Pharisees are fasting along with John’s disciples, but Jesus and his disciples are not fasting (v. 18). How might this snapshot of Jesus’ ministry among sinners challenge our ideas about God’s attitude towards sinners? Jesus perfectly reveals God the Father (Hebrews 1:1-3); so, when we see Jesus acting and hear him speak in the Gospel, we gain revelation about God the Father’s desires. 
3. In Mk. 2:23-28, we see the continued pushback from the Pharisees towards Jesus and his disciples. Jesus permits his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath to eat. He indicates that all the grain belongs to him, in some way. It is the world’s “showbread” (v. 26) to the Father. And, as such, he can decide who eats it and when. Jesus does not do away with the Sabbath, he clarifies its purpose. In Mark 3 we will see a little more about Jesus’ understanding of the Sabbath. For now, reflect on the meaning of Sabbath rest and the love Jesus desires to reveal to us on Sunday.

Food for Thought:

Going into this Lent, I have been calling the church to join together in a prayerful intention for our Lenten penances. We see in Mark 2:5 the power of corporate prayer and how that prayer can affect our neighbor. The friends in Mark 2:1-12 reveal their faith in Jesus by pursuing him at all cost; they recklessly go after Jesus’ healing. They rip off the roof of the house Jesus is in and literally lower their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus. They did not care about the crowd, they didn’t pick a number and wait in line, and they didn’t seem to mind interrupting Jesus’ teaching. They knew, they were expectant, they had faith that Jesus would heal their friend - and their actions showed it. In Mark 2:5 we read: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven’.” From this we see that this paralyzed man’s sins are forgiven due to the faith of his friends. That’s awesome! We also know Jesus heals the man in verse 11. Due to the faith expressed in reckless, expectant charity that paralyzed man walked out of that crowded room filled with faith in Jesus. When we join our Lenten practices to Jesus’ offering on the Cross in faith and for others, people will be freed of sins and healed. Your faith and your prayer/fasting matter deeply. We might not understand why Jesus wanted the friends to bring him their paralyzed buddy before he healed him, but we do see that Jesus honored their faith. He will honor your sacrifices and prayers. 

A miracle happens when Jesus calls Levi. Levi heard Jesus say to him, “Follow me” (Mk. 2:14). Two words. Two words changed Levi’s life forever. Immediately, Levi rose and followed Jesus (v. 14). Tax collectors were considered some of the lowest of the low in the outcast group of the first century. Tax collectors often worked with the Roman Empire and ended up taking people’s goods and property, charging exorbitant rates, and imposed the financial subjugation of the people. They tended to be locals whom the Romans trusted. So, many considered tax collectors to also be traitors to their nation along with unscrupulous purse snatchers. That was who Jesus called. We see in Levi’s actions that he changes his state in life. Levi “rose” and “followed him.” Jesus did not call him only to leave him in his sins. Jesus called him, because he cared about him, and called him away from his sins. In the New Testament, the word “rose” is often associated with Jesus’ Resurrection. So, Jesus, in a sense, “raised” Levi from the death of his sins to a new life of following him. This is true mercy. True mercy does not leave us in our sin, but meets us at the tax office and calls us forth to new life. Jesus even rejoiced with Levi and ate with him in his house; Jesus didn’t just call him away from sin and then bug out. Jesus stayed with Levi, got to know him, and built that relationship to strengthen Levi in his new life. Jesus sees sin as a sickness “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mk. 2:17). No loving parent wants their child to remain sick, they will do what they can to bring healing to their child. Jesus is the same with us regarding sin. He loves us too much to take sin lightly. He is merciful, forgiven, and generous, yes. But, he calls us to get out of the “tax office” so that we can spend time with him and follow him in a new way of life. 

    Next time we will delve into Mark 3. Cheers!

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