Reaching out in Faith: Receiving Christ

“When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him” (Mark 9:14-15).

I’ve been diving into Scripture almost daily this year (praise be to God!), and I’ve been reminded of Jesus’ role as healer. In his short ministry on earth, he heals so many people — the blind, the lame, the deaf, the mute, the dead!

I relate to the people healed in these stories. I know the feeling of desperation. I’ve been the person crying out from the darkness, begging for guidance in life, restoration in relationships, even that the baby inside of me might be brought back to life. I relate, too, to the conversion that happens after the healing breath of God fills your lungs — the understanding that I must rely on him completely, utterly. He is the Only Way.

I’m thankful for those tender moments in my life when I was sure the Lord was near. But stories like the one in Mark 9 remind me that the Lord is always near. I just need to seek him with eyes of faith. The characters in the story help illustrate what walking in faith involves.

Ready to Receive

Surprisingly, the people in the crowd — those same people whom Jesus calls a “faithless generation” — inspire me. Mark tells us that they were “immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him” (Mark 9:15).

Immediately? Wow.

These people, flawed as they were, were ready for Christ. They’d heard about him and went looking for him. They expected miracles in their everyday lives, not just in their darkest hours! I want to be more like these people, who were so aware of Christ’s presence among them and so unafraid to seek and find.

How can we be ready to encounter the Lord? Scripture provides a model for us. Stories of healing help reveal who Christ is, how he operates, and how we ought to respond. He often follows a pattern: He invites us to come away from the crowd, he places his hands on us or speaks words of healing over us, and he invites us to leave our old ways behind and follow him.

With that in mind, consider these ideas:

Step Away

Scripture tells us that Jesus’ voice is still and small. In order to hear Him, we have to step away from the literal and figurative noise of our lives and make time to be only with Him. Consider setting a recurring one-on-one with Jesus on your calendar. Pick a time and place, and show up. Just you — no phone, no friends, kids optional. Show up consistently. He’ll meet you there.

Expect the Best

So often, we come into a situation with low expectations. We “just know” So-and-so is going to say X, and Such-and-such is going to do Y, and then X and Y always lead to Z. We know how everything is going to play out. But Scripture reminds us that Jesus is full of surprises, and he works miracles all the time, even in the mundane moments of life.

Seek him in the everyday: Jesus, where are you? What miracles are you already doing, here and now?

Ready to Believe

Another part of the story in Mark 9 that stands out to me is when we see the boy’s father courageously step into faith as he proclaims, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Conversion naturally follows a healing encounter with Christ, but it still takes a hefty measure of readiness on our part. We need to be ready to let go of all that would keep us from following Christ and be ready to embrace whatever God has in store for us.

Think back to John 9, when Jesus heals a man who was born blind. Can you imagine if the Lord put mud on your face?

You close your eyes, thinking that he’s going to gently caress and heal you. Instead, he smears mud on you! But God works all things for his glory — all things, any things. He’s a good father who gives good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:11).

Are we ready to accept what he gives us or how he chooses to heal us? What gifts are we reluctant to embrace? When we feel doubt creep in, will we have the courage to ask for more faith? Lord, help our unbelief!

Ready to do the Work

Ask, and you shall receive. At the end of the story, the father’s prayer is answered — his son is healed. But what about the boy? What can we learn about walking in faith from a character who doesn’t say a thing?

“After crying out and convulsing him terribly, [the spirit] came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand.” (Mark 9:26-27)

Saint John Henry Newman says that God has committed to each of one us some work to which “He has not committed to any other.” We are called — and we are healed — to accomplish some mission, entrusted only to us. This boy was healed for a specific reason.

Jesus doesn’t reveal the boy’s mission to us, but he does reveal something about himself: He will help us.

There will be times when we don’t feel like doing the work. There will be times when we don’t feel anything at all. Like the boy, we may feel spiritually dead. But Christ — the Lord of the Living and the Giver of Life — is here. He’s always here, ready to take our hand, lift us up, and help us stand.

Lord, make me ready to receive you, to believe in you, to follow you, to reach for you each day.

Tara Wright is an artist, Marine wife, and happy Catholic. By day, Tara creates content for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit force behind the beloved children’s show “Sesame Street.” She is the owner of Tara Wright Illustration, where she specializes in custom art and illustration, and is co-founder of Scatter and Sow. After spending several years in New York City and Fredericksburg, Virginia, Tara and her family are currently back home in Oklahoma, riding out the pandemic closer to family.