cat out of the bag

Saturday February 18th, Mark 1: “45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. The cat was out of the bag and the Messiahship of Jesus was being defined by exactly what everyone expected, no more and no less. Jesus continued to heal and minister to all who came out, outside the border fences of society and expectation, to him. Sometimes we find ourselves boxed in, surrounded only by expectations, laws, rules and outside grace. When you find yourself in this situation, reach out to those who are trying to fence you in and heal also, tear down the fences, confront the evil, change the expectation and welcome Jesus to the process of welcoming the enemy. Sometimes it is just that reaching out that is in and of itself the boundary crossing, and those on the outside who are precisely what is needed to extend ministry, grace and forgiveness on the inside that has grown so stale.