BREAKTHROUGH
(Open-ended,
Life-centred Explorations of the Sunday Gospels for Home Groups)
MK 9:
14-29...Sunday, September 24th, 2006...16th S. after Pentecost
NOTES: 1] The context is immediately
after the Transfiguration. 2]
In today's terms, we'd describe the boy as suffering from epilepsy. The
fact that in the 1st C they understood such things in terms of spirits
& demons doesn't mean we have to think like that in the 21st C! 3] Jesus has a unique capacity for
getting beside people in pain of one sort or another. 4] In v.22,
translations that speak of 'pity' don't bring out enough the true
meaning, which is 'compassion'. 'Pity' is a much less costly response
than 'com-passion' (with passion)!
WARMING UP: Do we look forward to
reunions with family, colleagues, etc., or are they something to be
avoided?
TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify
God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
14-16 What part do arguments,
disputes, etc. play in our family, congregation, workplace, social
circle, etc.? Is disputing about doctrine, church leadership, the way
we do things as a congregation or wider church, or other such issues
part of our experience of being a Christian? Is disputing a plus or a
minus in our calling to be a friend of Jesus? If our experience,
personally & congregationally, is more at the 'what's the point of
arguing?' end of the scale how are we to discern what's worth taking a
stand on & what isn't?
17-27 Do we ever find
ourselves or someone else frustrated by the fact that our prayers for
someone's healing, our own or someone else's, are not being answered
the way we hope for? Is our faith strong enough to withstand such a
challenge? Do we keep praying / modify our praying / gain more insight
into the way prayer works? Or doesn't it
always work? What if the answer is "No"? Is there any
real alternative to growing so close to God we 'know the mind of God'
so we always & only pray according to God's way of looking at
things? How do we feel if we pray hard for someone (as the apostles no
doubt did here) & it 'doesn't work'? Is it embarrassing,
discouraging, challenging, frustrating......? Do we have some
sympathy for the father when Jesus retorts, "If you can! (What's this if business!?)" What about when we
pray, "If it be your will"? Is
that a good habit, or one we need to get out of?
If we're sometimes unsure of
our 'faith / belief 'rating', what about our com-passion 'rating' in
God's eyes? What do we actually need to do to strengthen our faith?
What do we actually need to do to strengthen our compassion?
How aware
are we of the trauma that being seriously ill one way or another
produces in people? How aware are we of the pain it causes them
in more ways than only the physical? How easy / difficult do we find it
to get beside / have compassion for / hang in there with those in pain?
What further gifts do we need to be able to be Jesus-like in the way we
relate to them? How realistic, how discerning are we about the gifts we
do have, as well as those we need? Is praying for & expecting such
gifts from God a serious part of our 'praying for the sick'?
28-29 Given Jesus doesn't
growl at the apostles for failing to be able to heal the epileptic boy,
do we ever place too much emphasis on what we're doing wrong / where
we're going wrong & not enough on moving on to getting what we need
to get right? (As Jesus here encourages the apostles to move on &
make progress in their praying?) Are there practical steps we could
take in this regard?
