Missing Jesus
And Jesus could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. –Mark 6:5-6 (NRSV)
There he was. Jesus—Lord God himself—right in front of them.
The people of Capernaum were seeking something.
But they weren’t seeking Jesus. And as they looked to all the wrong places? They missed the blessings Jesus was ready to share. The people were looking everywhere around God except to God.
Which we do sometimes, don’t we?
The thrilling or the avoidant, the lashing out, the suspicion, the conspiracies, the ways we—or so many—try to make it through and past all the horror we have experienced, collectively and individually.
I see it in my hometown of New York City, and I see it in this story from Capernaum. Sometimes we look to the wrong places for relief, when Jesus is standing right in front of us.
And for those who would? Who risked the faith to let God help them?
They got their blessing.
I’m not saying they got this right every day. I’m not claiming that they were particularly righteous otherwise. They just risked the faith. And they were healed.
Prayer
May we, the many, learn from the few. And may the blessings grow. Amen.
About the AuthorKaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.