Gospel: Mark 6: 53-56
Today's reading is a reminder of how expansive Jesus' ministry of mercy was in his time. The region was a diverse one at the time time with both Jewish and Gentile residents. Consider that those who came to Jesus for healing all had various feelings and internal motivations for doing so, but all wanted an encounter with the Lord Jesus. All wanted to be healed.
It is worth noting that no one is turned away. There is no selective process of meting out who is worthy and who is unworthy to approach the Lord. All are provided with an encounter with the Lord, all are healed without qualification. How often did Jesus chastise those who would seek to prevent and deter those who sought an encounter with him.
This passage is instructive for us who often seek to exclude certain people from an encounter with the Lord. It is also instructive for us in meditating on the mystery of God's relationship with people. We ourselves only have access to our own relationship with God, and most of us know it so superficially and ephemerally that it has little meaning. Yet we would seek to pass judgment on God's encounter with another soul! We who are unworthy ourselves would dare to say to others that they are so unworthy that they cannot encounter God at all. May we seek God's healing mercy in our lives, and may we be a bridge for others to access that mercy as well.
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