Mark 1:21-28

Another interruption becomes another teachable moment! Jesus is reading from a scroll in the synagogue. A very sick man exhibits convulsions and shouts at Jesus disrupting the service. The crowd is upset that this man has disturbed Jesus and them. While the congregation was annoyed, they did not care much for the man, but Jesus did.

“Jesus stopped his teaching. He wanted the man to be well. ‘Be still,’ he said to the sick man. ‘Be well.’ The sick man became peaceful and quit shaking. ‘What is this?’ the people said in amazement. ‘He even cures the sick!’”

For the ones gathered in the synagogue, the teachable moment was when Jesus was reading from the scroll. By discontinuing His reading and by attending to the sick man, Jesus demonstrated that there was no time like the present to show care and compassion. He stopped His teaching to show how important one person can be especially when that person seemed so marginalized. The sick man might have also enjoyed attending worship, but not as he was. He longed to be … he needed to be healed of his affliction. Jesus healed him.

Who knows that the story did not end there, but by Jesus and the healed man walking back into the synagogue and with him and the other worshipers listening to Jesus as He resumed His teaching? The people learned that Jesus taught even when He was not reading from a scroll and that in healing one who was afflicted Jesus stressed how important each person is. No wonder news of Jesus’ power spread near and far among the people.

 Prayer

O God, we give thanks that Your Son Jesus demonstrated that He loved others as if each individual was of ultimate importance. Help us to know that we are so loved. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.