Deep-End Discipleship

Jesus and his followers came into Jericho. As Jesus was leaving Jericho, together with his disciples and a sizable crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, Timaeus’ son, was sitting beside the road. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was there, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, show me mercy!” Many scolded him, telling him to be quiet, but he shouted even louder, “Son of David, show me mercy!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him forward.”  They called the blind man, “Be encouraged! Get up! He’s calling you.”  Throwing his coat to the side, he jumped up and came to Jesus.  Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  The blind man said, “Teacher, I want to see.”  Jesus said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” At once he was able to see, and he began to follow Jesus on the way. Mark 10:46-52 CEB The Gospel of Mark is full of healing stories, to the point where the gospel glosses over some of them because there are so m...

“But your loyal love, Lord, extends to the skies; your faithfulness reaches the clouds. Your righteousness is like the strongest mountains; your justice is like the deepest sea. Lord, you save both humans and animals. Your faithful love is priceless, God! Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the bounty of your house;you let them drink from your river of pure joy.Within you is the spring of life.   In your light, we see light. ” Psalm 36: 5-9 CEB What do you do when you’re having a really, totally, horribly bad day? Do you isolate yourself, or flock to friends? Do you seek out music or movies to relate to your feelings? Do you try and keep yourself busy with homework and tasks, or do you space out and let your mind go numb? I think that this is an important thing to know about ourselves. Sometimes these outlets can be good, but other times, our coping mechanisms don’t always help us face the problem at hand. When something happens, an...