I wish there was more clarity
Mark 2:1-12

I am not from Missouri, but maybe I should have been. Missouri, if you recall, is the “show me” state, a reference to its people being especially vigilant about the truth.

Perhaps needing more evidence.

Show me.
I, too, require some proof. Especially in this day and age of fake news and AI news and CGI movies and all the liberties taken with facts and factual occurrences.

In Mark‘s gospel today, Jesus tells a paralyzed man that his sins are forgiven.

Some scribes sitting nearby think it an outrageous claim. Anyone could say that, but where’s the proof?

So Jesus decides to offer something big and visible. Rather than just the invisible “forgiving” of sins.

To the paralyzed man he says, get up, take your mat and go.

Show me, the nearby scribes say. Jesus does.

So I wonder. From wherever I am in life’s journey, am I even capable of being grateful to God for the myriad gifts bestowed? Do I even see them all? Or do I overlook them because prayer answers come in some form I’m not expecting? Such as my sins being forgiven versus being able to walk again.

Am I looking for something bigger, better, more provable?

I have to be honest. Yes, at times I’d love the assurance of proof. But instead, I’ve been given the blessing of faith. And, as you may know, it doesn’t always line the path with lights and directional signs.

So every once in a while, in times in which I am more needy, I may falter and wish Jesus could just show me the way, the answer, the next step. Meanwhile, my faith and I will continue the journey, sometimes wishing I could see more clearly, but, in the absence of proof, we carry on.