Mark 6:53-56

Posted by DJL on Jun 20, 2012 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

It’s been a busy season at the Galilean seashore. Comings and goings, revival meetings, feedings, exorcisms and healings of one sort of another. It’s gotten to the point, in fact, that crowds are forming the moment Jesus gets out of the boat.

This is, as we’ve seen, one of the themes of Mark’s story about Jesus: he stands against all that would rob the children of God of the life and abundance God intends for them. That’s part of what the kingdom is: whole-hearted, abundant life, even here and now.

But there’s another element of Mark’s account that has been a regular, if less obvious, part of the story as well, and it is signaled in the first five words of this passage: “when they had crossed over.”

Jesus, you see, is never content simply to remain where he is. He is always “crossing over” to a new territory. Nor is this simply geographic traversing. He crosses social boundaries as well. Moving from the familiar shores and folks of Capernaum to the foreign lands and people of Garazene and back again, conversing with leader and peasant, man and woman, alike. In fact, most of this first part of Mark describes Jesus flitting between the familiar and expected haunts of a teacher of his stature and the unfamiliar and foreign lands of those who are different – other – than his own people. Jesus and the kingdom he bears will not, even cannot, be contained.

Yet one thing remains constant across his travels: he meets all those in need and restores them, bringing God’s abundance to them wherever they are.

So where you are today? Amid the familiar challenges of life, stuck in unfamiliar terrain, bolding traversing to foreign lands and experiences? Wherever you are, Jesus is coming. Eager to meet your need, celebrate your accomplishments, call you to dare great things, draw you into the very Kingdom of  God. Jesus is coming, wherever you may be, for you.

Prayer: Dear God, remind us of you steadfast commitment to search for, seek out, and find all those who are lost or in need, even us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.