Jesus in the unexpected

I just started the Gospel of Mark. After reading 1 Chronicles for the last few weeks this is very refreshing and has a whole different pace. Mark opens up and hits the ground running pretty hard and in your face right from the start. A few verses really struck me.

"Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. They were surprised at his teaching—so forthright, so confident—not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars." 1:21-22

"They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. When they weren't able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, "Son, I forgive your sins." Some religion scholars sitting there started whispering among themselves, "He can't talk that way! That's blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins." 2:4-7

"Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: "What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?" Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I'm here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit."2:15-17

"One Sabbath day he was walking through a field of ripe grain. As his disciples made a path, they pulled off heads of grain. The Pharisees told on them to Jesus: "Look, your disciples are breaking Sabbath rules!"Jesus said, "Really? Haven't you ever read what David did when he was hungry, along with those who were with him? How he entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, with the Chief Priest Abiathar right there watching—holy bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat—and handed it out to his companions?" Then Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren't made to serve the Sabbath. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath. He's in charge!" 2:24-28

It seems that some times those who were religious got so caught up in what was supposed to happen. What they expected to happen. Caught in what their rules told them should happen...that they missed the miracle of what was going on right in front of their eyes.

I know this happens to me to. I show up on Sunday to worship, or Wednesday to my Life Group...or to some other church event...and I have so much in my head, so many responsibilities, so much to do, that I miss the miracle going on right in front of me.

This miracle is that God would allow us to come into his presence. He asks for it. He opens the door for it. He promises his presence when we gather in his name. But we get so caught up in what should happen next, what we think a song should sound like, where a lesson goes or doesn't that we miss the point: Jesus.

Jesus is the point, and he often interrupts the expected and shows up in the unexpected.