Pastor's Column 3/15/2026

PASTOR’S COLUMN

1  “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum the people heard that He had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd they made an opening  in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat  the man was lying on.  5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark 2:1-5, NIV                                                                        

4th Sunday in Lent – “Digging Deeper!”

The life and ministry of Jesus is filled with extraordinary and miraculous work He performed among people like you and me. Jesus was robed in the same flesh as we, and His compassion and love for people was always evident. The Gospel of Mark has Jesus “returning” to Capernaum a city in His hometown region in the Galilee.  This could have been the return of Jesus after His itinerant ministry had taken Him to parts of Judea. We note Jesus received mixed attention in His hometown region, which vacillated between some moments of fond acceptance, to times in which He was “without honor;” as His messages were met with disdain! Jesus was never enamored with praise; nor was He intimidated by rejection. Mark allows us to see Jesus as both preacher and healer. Our Lord was as concerned about impediments to health challenges; as He was with the condition of a person’s heart and soul. Jesus wanted people to absorb His message, so their faith could induce change. On that day Jesus entered the town, the crowd was relentless. What caught His attention was the courageous effort of four men, whose paralyzed friend could not enter the house Jesus was in. Those men dug their way through the roof of that house. They placed their friend on a mat and lowered him down to Jesus. We must have faith to dig deep and tap into the stream of healing!