The gospel today shows us two groups in action - a large group (a crowd) and a small group (four men).
The 'crowd' is a major player in the New Testament. It is interesting to look a little more closely at it.
- Mk 2:13 - He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him...
- Mk 5:21 - And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
- Mk 9:15 - And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him … ran up to him and greeted him.
- Mk 3:9 - And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they should crush him ...
- Mk 4:11 - He answered them, ‘The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables…’
- Mk 4:36 - And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat…
- Mtt 9:25 - But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
- Jn 6:15 - Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone...
But he also has compassion on the crowd … he feeds them
- Mk 8:2 - I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground...
- Mk 2:13 - He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them.
- Mtt 21:8 - Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, "Hosanna…"
- Mk 15:11 - But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. … And they cried out again, "Crucify him."
- Mk 14:43 - And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
- Mk 5:30 - Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling.
- Mk 9:17 - Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit".
- Mk 2:4 - (the men carrying the paralytic) … they could not get near him (Jesus) because of the crowd...
- Mtt 20:29 - And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent...
- Lk 8:19 - Then his mother and his brethren came to him, but they could not reach him for the crowd...
- Lk 19:3 (Zacchaeus) And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd…
The other group we see in the Gospel today is a small group of four men. These men carry a litter on which lies a paralytic. They are bringing him to Jesus but the crowd stops them. Undaunted they devise a plan. They work together to lift the man up onto the roof. They take the tiles from the roof and lower him down to Jesus.
This small group shows concentration, unity of purpose, determination, perseverance, initiative, patience, resourcefulness, courage, imagination, energy and love. It is not a group at all, really, it is a community - a community of love - an evangelising community which brings others to Jesus.
- Which of these two groups best represents our Parish? Are we a crowd or are we a community?
- What do we wish to be? A crowd or a community?
- Do we make it easier or harder for others to find Christ?
- At the very least, the journey of this parish must be from ‘crowd’ to ‘community’. How do you think we might achieve this?
