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Daily Lenten Meditation
By Ember Baker
Mark 3:7-19a
Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!" But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home. NRSV
In this passage from Mark we see Jesus' ministry as a healer coming into full swing. The crowds following him, looking for healing are so large that He has his Disciples take him out onto the water in a boat so as not to be overwhelmed by the crowd pressing around him. He also chooses 12 apostles to share his ministry and imparts to them the authority to heal and to cast out demons.
In modern times we have largely replaced this healer, Jesus, with a Divine Sacrificial Lamb, image of Jesus. This Savior Jesus, come to reconcile a broken or damaged relationship between God and humanity, is certainly the one we generally focus on during this season of Lent leading to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus' Death on the cross. Lent is a season of introspection when we examine our own brokenness and our need for reconciliation with the Divine. In traditional terms, we acknowledge our own sinfulness, our failures and shortcomings and our personal and corporate need for redemption. Even so, we have this passage of Jesus as Healer and Deliverer from Demons squarely placed in the middle of this Lenten season. It reminds us that the real meat of Jesus' ministry was about transforming lives, one at a time, through healing of all sorts. It hints to us that this work of reconciliation between God and humankind and the work of healing broken people are one and the same.
So this season, instead of looking for the areas where we have sinned or fallen short of the target, as the term is used in archery, and turning to Jesus on the cross full of guilt and remorse for our sins, let's take this passage to heart and remember Jesus the Healer. Let us take courage from this passage and look at ourselves, our lives, and our relationships, deeply and honestly for the places where we are still broken, wounded or bound. Let's take a moment today to go to Jesus the healer and allow him, not only to see our wounds, but to touch them with His healing power. Let's come to him as one who can set us free from our personal demons whatever they may be and transform our lives.
And let us remember that we, as apostles of Christ, are called into His work of healing and delivering others into freedom and wholeness. Whether that be through offering kind words, caring for a sick friend, or offering forgiveness to someone who hurt us, let us take on the mind and heart of Christ as we travel with Jesus through these last days before his death.
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