February 13                                                                                      Mark 1:  29-45

 

In this chapter of Mark, Jesus and his followers are traveling throughout the province of Galilee, spreading the message, and healing the sick and demon-possessed.   One would assume that Jesus is feeling overwhelmed by the number of people who are coming to be healed and by those coming to witness the healings and listen to his message.  Jesus could not publicly enter a city without being mobbed, so he eventually had to remain out in the barren wastelands, and the people would throng to him there.

One wonders why Jesus didn’t just climb to the highest point that he could find, open his arms, look up to Heaven, and cure all of the people of their demons and illnesses in one grand gesture. 

But in the text, each time Jesus healed someone, he physically touched them, which is the key point.  The people came to Jesus because they were hurting and desperate.  And Jesus laid his hands on them, giving them God’s love through God’s touch, and their belief in that love freed them from their sins.

All we must do is ask for God’s blessing and forgiveness, and we shall receive it.  Worry about nothing, and pray about everything, for in God all things are possible.

 

~ Deb Kenniston