Changed for Good (Mark 1:21-45)

In Mark chapter 1, Jesus is a disruptor. He’s not merely tweaking the system, he’s re-writing it, stirring the pot, unsettling the status quo. It’s clear here that Jesus has authority to restore not just one aspect of our brokenness but every aspect. We see him healing bodies. Restoring spirits. Bringing people back into community. Upending systems of exclusion. Terrifying those who benefit from the status quo.  In each of these situations, he confidently goes against the current, trusting that there are some who will eventually fall in love with God’s way and follow Christ. We can all get stuck. Stuck in patterns of thinking that make it hard for us to change direction, we’re left feeling helpless and hopeless. We can look at what’s broken and think, “It’s all too broken. It can’t be fixed or put back together again.” The good news of the gospel speaks to us in these moments. It’s good news because it’s so drastically different from what we’d come up with on our own.