Mark 6: 53-56

I must admit I always get a kick out of our preschool kids walking past the church office, glancing at the portraits of our previous pastors, and then recognizing me in my portrait. I remember my father telling his account of seeing Albert Einstein in a train station. He would still get a kick out recognizing him by his hair, his wild, white hair. St. Peter was getting ready for his annual three-week vacation, and Jesus volunteered to fill in for him at the pearly gates. “It’s no big deal,” St. Peter explained. “Sit at the registration desk and ask the incoming people a little about their lives. Then tell them to go to housekeeping to pick up their wings.” On the third day, a bewildered, old man approached the desk where Jesus was working. “I’m a simple carpenter,” said the man. “Once I had a son, a very special child unlike any other in this whole world. He was born in a very unique way, and he went through an incredible transformation in his lifetime, even though he had holes in his hands and feet. He has been gone a long time, but his spirit lives on forever. In fact, his story is told all over the world.” With that, Jesus stood up with arms outstretched. Tears welled up in his eyes as he embraced the old man. “Father,” he cried out. “It’s been so long!” The old man squinted, stared for a moment at Jesus, and said, “Pinocchio?”

Jesus and his disciples landed their boat on the shore of the Sea of Galilee at Gennesaret. The people there recognized Jesus. So often, recognition occurs by visual clues. From the Encyclopedia Britannica: “Recognition, in psychology, is a form of REMEMBERING CHARACTERIZED BY A FEELING OF FAMILIARITY when something PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED IS AGAIN ENCOUNTERED; in such situations a correct response can be identified when presented but may not be reproduced in the absence of such a stimulus.” The folks in Gennesaret experienced a form of remembering WITH A FEELING, a feeling of familiarity. It wasn’t merely recognizing someone in the grocery story. It was a FEELING of familiarity – something previously experienced is again encountered. THE FEELING OF BEING IN HIS PRESENCE WAS ENCOUNTERED AGAIN. Not merely a picture on the wall or a celebrity in a train station, it was feeling familiar when they encountered Jesus again.

That feeling of familiarity of someone previously experienced and encountered again prompted the community into action, into compassion.  They rushed about the whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever he was. These four verses tell a simple story. Jesus was recognized. In that recognition, the community brought the sick to him believing they’d be made whole. There’s no referencing to anyone in the past having been healed by Jesus and conveying to everyone else the significance of his presence and how others can be healed. The people recognized and gathered the sick for him to heal them. They knew that’s what he did, and they responded out of compassion for others to receive what they’d received or witnessed others had received from him.

A young employee secretly misappropriated several thousand dollars of his company’s money. When this action was discovered, the young man was told to report to the office of the senior partner of the firm. As he walked up the stairs to the office, the young employee was heavyhearted. He knew without a doubt he would lose his position with his firm. He also feared the possibility of legal action taken against him. Seemingly his whole world had collapsed. Upon his arrival in the office of the senior partner the young man was questioned about the whole affair. He said the allegations were true.  Then the executive surprisingly asked the young man, “If I keep you in your present capacity, can I trust you in the future?” The young worker brightened up and answered affirmatively, “Yes, sir, you can. I’ve learned my lesson.” The partner responded, “I’m not going to press charges, and you can continue in your present responsibilities.” The executive concluded, “I think you ought to know that you are the second employee in this firm who succumbed to temptation and was shown leniency. I WAS THE FIRST. What you have done, I did. The mercy you are receiving, I received. It’s only the grace of God that can keep us both.” It is by the grace of God we experience forgiveness and healing. Many in Gennesaret knew of his grace and mercy. That feeling of familiarity of Jesus’ touch and mercy previously experienced and encountered again prompted the community into action, into compassion. That senior partner had experienced mercy and grace and shared through compassion. He was familiar with the grace of God, and familiar with the young man’s mistake. He brought him to the throne of grace.

Wherever Jesus went, city or rural, they laid the sick in the markets. They touched the fringe of his cloak – all who touched it were healed. Jesus didn’t say a word, he didn’t touch them. The senior partner didn’t threaten the young man. He merely said, “THE MERCY YOU ARE RECEIVING, I RECEIVED.” Once the people recognized Jesus, they began to act. Evidently, once the senior partner knew of the mistake the young man committed, he knew he had to bestow mercy, but he also knew he had to tell the young man he had received mercy in times past, as well. HE KNEW OF HEALING, AND HE WANTED THE YOUNG MAN TO BE HEALED AS WELL.

Healing in and through Christ takes all forms. His arrival in Gennesaret ignited a FEELING OF FAMILIARITY in the community, and it stirred them to act, to get the sick to him, to lay them before him. He’d done it before, and he was there again. Go and get the suffering and broken. He did it for others. He can do it for you.

(Preached at St Mark United Methodist Church in Anniston, AL, 1-19-25)