Squirrely Heads, Squirrely Hearts

By the second chapter of Mark things around Jesus were getting crowded, and they were about to get heated too. At one point the crowd was so large that the only way they could bring a paralyzed man to Jesus was to cut a hole and the roof and lower him into the middle of an ongoing conversation. Surprising everyone, Jesus didn’t start by healing the man, he started by forgiving his sins. That’s when the legal experts started getting squirrely

“Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—  “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home” (Mark 2:6-11).

The scribes were an interesting bunch. They started out making copies of the Old Testament scriptures and going to great lengths to make sure each was perfect. Then in 586 BC Jerusalem was sacked and the most educated people (scribes included) were carried away into captivity. In Babylon the scribes became both the experts in the law and guardians of the national identity. They kept the language alive, they kept the Torah accurate and they kept the hope that one day they would return to Jerusalem. Most of all, they became the keepers of a lot of information.

Now, in a crowded room with Jesus, we see these legal experts, these men trained to give answers from their heads, start to ask questions in their hearts. Your heart is private, it’s known to you alone and it always fixates o. the things you find most beautiful. Your head can inform that and It is important to note that Jesus never diminishes the importance of their reliance on the details of the text. Indeed, when Jesus says “in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority…” he uses the word that means to know information with your head. It’s like he’s saying “I am talking to you in your head language. It’s good language, but you need to push it into your heart.”

Finally, our hearts are more likely to ask questions than make statements because we always want to know how to get closer to the beautiful thing, and so we see that even the scribes are “questioning in their hearts.” Sadly, the scribes were asking the wrong questions which makes me want to know how to ask the right ones. Here are a few we might try this Friday.

1. God, what keeps me from trusting you more?

2. God, what do I believe about you that isn’t true?

3. God, how do you see me? What name do you use when you call me?