The Gospel according to St. Mark
Chapter
2
ⁱ. When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 1)
Oh God my Father, although we might be very helpful and effective in our service to others, we are not to neglect our duty towards our family. In-fact, even our such members of our inner circle may take us for granted in what we do and say, they are still family and we are to show them our love, care and respect and be of help where and whenever possible Amen.
². So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 2)
Oh God my Father, the more You speak, the more I want to listen. You create in me a thirst, that no drink can ever satisfy. When I visit online meetings of Joel Osteen I see many people in auditoriums willing and ready to receive You by means of the message of the Gospel. When the pope makes a visit in many countries many people gather to hear Him proclaim Your Word, because we all wish to receive You more and more. One of my wishes is that there is a homely every day in Church and not only on a Sunday which is a special day. Amen.
³ Then some people came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 4)
Oh God my Father, the proverb says, that where there is a will there is a way, another one says, that where there is a will there are many lawyers, but I would like to change the proverb to say, 'Where there is Your presence in the heart of humanity, there is nothing that cannot be made possible, even if the task requires investing our strength time, prayer and even money. These four people disregarded their own fatigue needs and desires in order to bring a person to You my God and Father. I pray that we all be so generous in order to bring others to You. Amen. Oh God, my Father I also wish to have somebody to bring me to You, but on the other hand, You are with me every day of my life. Thank You, my God, and Father Amen.
⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son your sins are forgiven."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 5)
Oh God my Father, in truth You could have given the priority of the physical healing over the spiritual if You really wanted, however by means of this episode You are showing me where our priorities are to be. The spiritual are of the eternal, and last forever, while the material is valid only till we are alive as humans, therefore the spiritual is to be given its rightful priority amen.
⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷ "Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 6 to 7)
Oh God my Father many times we ask many questions, such as the reason for, death, pain and suffering and poverty in the world, without ever considering that You and only You are in control of all the circumstances of our lives. At times as in the case of the Scribes, You made it so obvious that only You can forgive sins that they even admitted this fact themselves, however their logic was corrupted so that they were unable to tie the last equation to solve the problem, that would help them realize that if only God could forgive sins, and that You were going to forgive the persons sins, You indeed are God. Many times oh God my Father, the situations in our lives appear so clear that only by Your intervention the situation can improve but still we refer to everyone but You my, God and Father.
⁸ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk?
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 8 to 9)
Oh God my Father today You place before me a very important question. If we are convinced that You are my God and Father why do we question issues of faith? Why do we disobey Your will and promote laws that God against Your will? Why do we act out of love, in our relationships with others? We are all sinners and therefore are not in a position to judge others. Why don't we trust You in everything even in physical healing, which You can bring whenever You want to? We need to be ready to forgive others as we ourselves wish to be forgiven. You were truly correct when You posed the fatal question, for indeed it is harder for us to forgive ourselves and others than to receive physical healing for our sinful unforgiving self-blocks this healing. Therefore we need to pray to forgive ourselves of many situations that may in truth not have been our fault at all and even if it was our fault we cannot keep on accusing ourselves forever! God is ready to forgive us. Therefore we need to make a decision to confess our sins and experience the relief of being freed from such a heavy burden and start again in our relationship with God which then relieves our body from such stress it and will function better because our spirit will be in harmony with our bodies, and then when we are living in a state of order with God and humans we will be in a position to receive greater acts of healing from You my, God and Father Amen.
¹⁰. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the paralytic- ¹¹. " I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home." ¹² And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 10 to 12)
Oh God my Father I honestly wish to say, which was the most influential, the healing of the body or that of the soul, for apparently the people seem to have been amazed at seeing the paralytic walk again, but I doubt if they were influenced by the forgiveness of sins, since this was less apparent. I pray oh God my Father that we do not get caught in the same trap. Let us all focus on what is the truth, and not on what is made to appear as being the truth. Let us focus on the message of the Gospel and not to all the criticism that the Bible receives. Amen. Let us apply the messages that it contains in our life and God will renew our souls Amen. Therefore let us repent from our sins, seek confession. God is giving us the opportunity to start again as in the case of the paralytic. god wants us to heal us spiritually and even physically let us not refuse His offer Amen.
¹³ Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 13)
Oh God every day of my life You visit me on one of Your daily walks and give me these reflections in order for me to grow and share with others so that they can also grow. The more my relationship improves, the more You reveal Yourself to me. I thank You for coming to look for me and for calling me my God and Father.
¹⁴ As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 14)
During the course of life You are still calling us today, to follow You in some way or another. Unlike many political figures or salespersons, You do not use alot of words or an impressing campaign in order to attract us to follow You. You call is short and direct, "Follow We", after such a request, it is our decision to follow You or not. I pray today that we all accept to take You up on Your call Amen.
¹⁵ And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples-for there were many who followed him.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 15)
Oh God my beloved Father everyone is welcome to follow You. Your Church is a Church that is composed of both Saints and Sinners, and that is what makes it so beautiful, for in time the Saints influence the sinners to become Saints, and Your Church will increase in sanctity because we draw our power from You my God and Father and share it with each other Amen.
¹⁶ When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 16)
Oh God my beloved Father, I thank You for loving sinners so much that You chose to have fellowship with us. I pray that we all accept Your invitation in order to have fellowship with You, and that we become close friends with You Amen. Oh God, my heart is always open to You Amen.
¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 17)
Oh God my beloved Father, this is what mainly attracts me to You. This is the fact that I am still a sinner and in need of Your love and care, however if I had to be totally healed of my sins, I would still follow You, because I would not follow out of want or need but as a result of gratitude and thanksgiving Amen.
¹⁸ Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" ¹⁹ Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 18 to 20)
Oh God my beloved Father in relation to fasting the same stands for our times, for although You have been physically taken, we are not alone, for You have sent us Your Holy Spirit who dwells in each one of us and is present during all the moments of our life. Therefore we need not fast Amen.
²¹ "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 21)
Oh God my Father the example that You gave us is similar to that of trying to solve new problems by mentioning issues of the past. When one does this, we refresh the wounds of both the past and the present and the problem does not improve. However if we refer to such issues as a learning experience instead of to criticise each other the outcome of the situation would to be more positive Amen.
Oh God my Father, You are the new garment, however we try to fix our old soiled garment by using You as a means for our salvation. We go to Church but in our hearts we still hold grudges against those who trespass against us or who as in my case people who have hurt me time and time again and I them, for I am not perfect. I pray oh God my Father that You make me humble enough to admit my mistakes and take off my old sinful stinky garments and allow You to wash and heal me with the power of Your Holy Spirit and only then I will be worthy of putting on the new garment that is You Amen. Thank You Jesus.
²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puta new wine into fresh wineskins."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 22)
Oh God my beloved Father at times we may do the same thing. Our perception of You still be that of the God of the "Old Testament" who was loving but also harsh and disciplined. However this is not the total reality. This is keeping new wine in old caskets. You are a total different version that cannot be kept perceived as in the Old Testament. The wineskins are our brains. We cannot keep on thinking negatively about You or others and holding grudges about events that took place in the past, but we have to be renewed in You and become new wineskins that are adequate to cater for the new wine that is Yourself. As wine gives phyisical plessure even Your presence gives us that and even more Amen. Therefore I pray that I open myself to You and allow You to renew my entire being Amen.
²³ One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grains. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabath?" ²⁵ And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? ²⁶ He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions." ²⁷ Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; ²⁸ so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 23 to 27)
Oh God my Father, I thank You for taking into consideration both the person and the person's situation as in the case of David and his companions and their need to eat. I also pray oh God my Father that You be so practical even in my case Amen.
Oh God my beloved Father I would like to end this second chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark with the following prayer:
Oh God my Father, please forgive us for we do not know what we do. Many times we test You by asking questions not in faith but in doubt. I admit in the name of humanity that we are all patients in need of You our physician who can heal both the body and the soul. Let us all go to our source of life and healing and drink from the never ending waterfall of love Amen. Thank You Jesus.
². So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 2)
Oh God my Father, the more You speak, the more I want to listen. You create in me a thirst, that no drink can ever satisfy. When I visit online meetings of Joel Osteen I see many people in auditoriums willing and ready to receive You by means of the message of the Gospel. When the pope makes a visit in many countries many people gather to hear Him proclaim Your Word, because we all wish to receive You more and more. One of my wishes is that there is a homely every day in Church and not only on a Sunday which is a special day. Amen.
³ Then some people came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 4)
Oh God my Father, the proverb says, that where there is a will there is a way, another one says, that where there is a will there are many lawyers, but I would like to change the proverb to say, 'Where there is Your presence in the heart of humanity, there is nothing that cannot be made possible, even if the task requires investing our strength time, prayer and even money. These four people disregarded their own fatigue needs and desires in order to bring a person to You my God and Father. I pray that we all be so generous in order to bring others to You. Amen. Oh God, my Father I also wish to have somebody to bring me to You, but on the other hand, You are with me every day of my life. Thank You, my God, and Father Amen.
⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son your sins are forgiven."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 5)
Oh God my Father, in truth You could have given the priority of the physical healing over the spiritual if You really wanted, however by means of this episode You are showing me where our priorities are to be. The spiritual are of the eternal, and last forever, while the material is valid only till we are alive as humans, therefore the spiritual is to be given its rightful priority amen.
⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷ "Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 6 to 7)
Oh God my Father many times we ask many questions, such as the reason for, death, pain and suffering and poverty in the world, without ever considering that You and only You are in control of all the circumstances of our lives. At times as in the case of the Scribes, You made it so obvious that only You can forgive sins that they even admitted this fact themselves, however their logic was corrupted so that they were unable to tie the last equation to solve the problem, that would help them realize that if only God could forgive sins, and that You were going to forgive the persons sins, You indeed are God. Many times oh God my Father, the situations in our lives appear so clear that only by Your intervention the situation can improve but still we refer to everyone but You my, God and Father.
⁸ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk?
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 8 to 9)
Oh God my Father today You place before me a very important question. If we are convinced that You are my God and Father why do we question issues of faith? Why do we disobey Your will and promote laws that God against Your will? Why do we act out of love, in our relationships with others? We are all sinners and therefore are not in a position to judge others. Why don't we trust You in everything even in physical healing, which You can bring whenever You want to? We need to be ready to forgive others as we ourselves wish to be forgiven. You were truly correct when You posed the fatal question, for indeed it is harder for us to forgive ourselves and others than to receive physical healing for our sinful unforgiving self-blocks this healing. Therefore we need to pray to forgive ourselves of many situations that may in truth not have been our fault at all and even if it was our fault we cannot keep on accusing ourselves forever! God is ready to forgive us. Therefore we need to make a decision to confess our sins and experience the relief of being freed from such a heavy burden and start again in our relationship with God which then relieves our body from such stress it and will function better because our spirit will be in harmony with our bodies, and then when we are living in a state of order with God and humans we will be in a position to receive greater acts of healing from You my, God and Father Amen.
¹⁰. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the paralytic- ¹¹. " I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home." ¹² And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 10 to 12)
Oh God my Father I honestly wish to say, which was the most influential, the healing of the body or that of the soul, for apparently the people seem to have been amazed at seeing the paralytic walk again, but I doubt if they were influenced by the forgiveness of sins, since this was less apparent. I pray oh God my Father that we do not get caught in the same trap. Let us all focus on what is the truth, and not on what is made to appear as being the truth. Let us focus on the message of the Gospel and not to all the criticism that the Bible receives. Amen. Let us apply the messages that it contains in our life and God will renew our souls Amen. Therefore let us repent from our sins, seek confession. God is giving us the opportunity to start again as in the case of the paralytic. god wants us to heal us spiritually and even physically let us not refuse His offer Amen.
¹³ Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 13)
Oh God every day of my life You visit me on one of Your daily walks and give me these reflections in order for me to grow and share with others so that they can also grow. The more my relationship improves, the more You reveal Yourself to me. I thank You for coming to look for me and for calling me my God and Father.
¹⁴ As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 14)
During the course of life You are still calling us today, to follow You in some way or another. Unlike many political figures or salespersons, You do not use alot of words or an impressing campaign in order to attract us to follow You. You call is short and direct, "Follow We", after such a request, it is our decision to follow You or not. I pray today that we all accept to take You up on Your call Amen.
¹⁵ And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples-for there were many who followed him.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 15)
Oh God my beloved Father everyone is welcome to follow You. Your Church is a Church that is composed of both Saints and Sinners, and that is what makes it so beautiful, for in time the Saints influence the sinners to become Saints, and Your Church will increase in sanctity because we draw our power from You my God and Father and share it with each other Amen.
¹⁶ When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 16)
Oh God my beloved Father, I thank You for loving sinners so much that You chose to have fellowship with us. I pray that we all accept Your invitation in order to have fellowship with You, and that we become close friends with You Amen. Oh God, my heart is always open to You Amen.
¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 17)
Oh God my beloved Father, this is what mainly attracts me to You. This is the fact that I am still a sinner and in need of Your love and care, however if I had to be totally healed of my sins, I would still follow You, because I would not follow out of want or need but as a result of gratitude and thanksgiving Amen.
¹⁸ Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" ¹⁹ Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 18 to 20)
Oh God my beloved Father in relation to fasting the same stands for our times, for although You have been physically taken, we are not alone, for You have sent us Your Holy Spirit who dwells in each one of us and is present during all the moments of our life. Therefore we need not fast Amen.
²¹ "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 21)
Oh God my Father the example that You gave us is similar to that of trying to solve new problems by mentioning issues of the past. When one does this, we refresh the wounds of both the past and the present and the problem does not improve. However if we refer to such issues as a learning experience instead of to criticise each other the outcome of the situation would to be more positive Amen.
Oh God my Father, You are the new garment, however we try to fix our old soiled garment by using You as a means for our salvation. We go to Church but in our hearts we still hold grudges against those who trespass against us or who as in my case people who have hurt me time and time again and I them, for I am not perfect. I pray oh God my Father that You make me humble enough to admit my mistakes and take off my old sinful stinky garments and allow You to wash and heal me with the power of Your Holy Spirit and only then I will be worthy of putting on the new garment that is You Amen. Thank You Jesus.
²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puta new wine into fresh wineskins."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verse 22)
Oh God my beloved Father at times we may do the same thing. Our perception of You still be that of the God of the "Old Testament" who was loving but also harsh and disciplined. However this is not the total reality. This is keeping new wine in old caskets. You are a total different version that cannot be kept perceived as in the Old Testament. The wineskins are our brains. We cannot keep on thinking negatively about You or others and holding grudges about events that took place in the past, but we have to be renewed in You and become new wineskins that are adequate to cater for the new wine that is Yourself. As wine gives phyisical plessure even Your presence gives us that and even more Amen. Therefore I pray that I open myself to You and allow You to renew my entire being Amen.
²³ One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grains. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabath?" ²⁵ And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? ²⁶ He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions." ²⁷ Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; ²⁸ so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
(The Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 2 verses 23 to 27)
Oh God my Father, I thank You for taking into consideration both the person and the person's situation as in the case of David and his companions and their need to eat. I also pray oh God my Father that You be so practical even in my case Amen.
Oh God my beloved Father I would like to end this second chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark with the following prayer:
Oh God my Father, please forgive us for we do not know what we do. Many times we test You by asking questions not in faith but in doubt. I admit in the name of humanity that we are all patients in need of You our physician who can heal both the body and the soul. Let us all go to our source of life and healing and drink from the never ending waterfall of love Amen. Thank You Jesus.
