Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Have you ever gone to an event that is so crowded that you can’t even get in the door? Were you discouraged and decided to leave? Persistent and hopeful that you might still get in or at least catch a glimpse or hear a little from where you were standing? How motivated were you to find another way in? Motivated enough to have your friends break through the roof and lower you down?! Today’s gospel reading from Mark (2:1-12) invites us to reflect on our place in the story of the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof of the home where Jesus was preaching.
The house was so crowded that there wasn’t even room around the door. This was worse than “standing room only” - people on the outside couldn’t even get in.
How badly do I want to be near Jesus? To hear his words, to simply be with him, to gaze upon him? There are times that I am easily deterred or discouraged by seeming obstacles. How easily do I give up in my attempt to spend time with Him?
If I’m already “inside” -- when I do spend time with Him in private or communal prayer -- am I taking in his every word? Or how often am I like the scribes in the story, distracted by judgmental thoughts about others? Or, let’s be honest, even judging Jesus himself for not answering my prayers the way I expect, for dare-I-say not being the kind of savior that part of me was hoping for (i.e. preventing all suffering and making life easy)?
If I’m on the outside, perhaps I’m wanting in but unable to get myself there, like the paralyzed man. Do I have his strong faith and an openness to others willing to assist me?
Other times I may be on the outside recognizing the needs and desires of those who need help getting closer to Jesus. What is my role there? Our role as a faith community? Working together to support one another, to lift each other up, like the men who break through the roof, let us pray for the faith, motivation, and persistence to overcome obstacles and perhaps open up unexpected paths to Jesus. Pathways to Jesus who is there ready to welcome, forgive, and heal.
—Eileen Miller