In Ignatian spirituality, we are encouraged to place ourselves in the midst of a gospel story in order to more fully encounter Jesus who teaches, heals, befriends, suffers and dies. In this occasional series, I’ll take a journey into that world and pray it helps you find your way there, too.
To begin, I turn to this marvelous story of healing in Mark 2. I believe I first encountered this story as a child, caught up by a Sunday School image of this man being lowered down from the roof so that Jesus can touch and heal him…
As you walk down the dusty road leading into Capernaum, you hear the rumble of voices before you even realize what is going on. A crowd is gathering, converging on the simple home of the itinerant teacher named Jesus. Some even call him a healer. Others say perhaps he is a prophet. A few have said, “Maybe he’s the Messiah we are hoping for.” But who would be foolish enough to believe that?
You push your way through the crowd to see for yourself, edging your way into the doorframe. The air smells of dried clay and cedar, and you lean back against the wood and feel it push into your back. You peer over the heads of those encircling the bearded man at the center of the small room. Quietly and yet with a natural confidence and seeming authority, he is explaining the law and the prophets. No one moves and no one talks. He has captured their attention and their imaginations. He laughs easily and frequently, his eyes dancing in the slant of light coming in through the small windows to his right.
[Read more…] about Being There: Jesus Heals the Paralyzed Man at Capernaum