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During this season of Lent, we focus on all that our Lord Jesus has done for us. In our Gospel reading of Luke 4:1-13 we see that Jesus was tempted by Satan, but despite Satan's best efforts Jesus resisted each temptation, not just for Himself, but also for you.

Jesus starts by healing those who need it, and then he turns to the disciples — again, not just the twelve, but the larger crowd — and begins to speak to them, telling them what life in his new Israel is all about. Listen again to his shocking words...

Five characteristics of a disciple in Luke 5:1-11 1. Disciples love to hear the Word of God taught (Luke 5:1-3) 2. Disciples obey Jesus even when it doesn’t make sense (Luke 5:4-7) 3. Disciples are aware of their own sinfulness (Luke 5:8-10a) 4. Disciples are fishers of men (Luke 5:10b) 5. Disciples are willing to forsake all and follow Christ (Luke 5:11)

(Mark 5:1-20) Gerasene demoniac: As Jesus disembarks on the other side of the sea, the disciples fade from the story.

In 1930, Hollywood teamed up with the Catholic Church. The result was the Production Code, a document that dictated what movies could and could not depict.

King declared: ““The image of God is universally shared in equal portions by all men. There is no graded scale of essential worth. Every human being has etched in his personality the indelible stamp of the Creator. Every man must be respected because God loves him..."

Gospel: John 2:1-11 And there is Jesus to save the day. With a little prodding from His mother, and some help from obedient servants, He swoops in and solves the problem before anyone even knew it existed. That is what we are looking for from God, right? To swoop in. To save the day. These are good reasons to like this text, but they all miss the point.

Recently, I have been contact with dear friends who have struggled with eye conditions that required immediate attention and have some ongoing issues. Hearing next Sunday’s readings about Bartimaeus, a man who was blind since birth, being healed and having his vision restored must sound mighty different for them than for most of us with no serious vision challenges. Their prayer, “Master, I want to see” is genuine.

The political process, while necessary, has little to do with how God is saving the world.

Welcome to our exploration of the miraculous Healing of Blind Bartimaeus as recounted in the Gospel of Mark.

View this week's issue of Parish: 'The Though'

In our quest this week to understand the strange two-stage healing story in Mark 8:22-26, we’ve seen Peter and the disciples finally ‘get’ who Jesus is – sort of.

View this week's issue of Parish: 'The Thought'

Mark 10 vs. 17 “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”