Bible Book: Mark / Markus
Chapter: 6
Verse: 1 – 6
Text: Mark 6: 1-6

People who are affected by HIV and AIDS may have one big fear in common: That people will put them in a box. And that there will be a name on that box. And that this would be a hurtful name. And that you will never be able to escape it.

If this has been the case with you, there is salvation. You can be liberated from the names people give you, and from the box in which they put you.

This is what happened to Jesus in Mark 6:1-6. He visited the place where he grew up, Nazareth. He was a renowned teacher and healer, by then, with a large following. His disciples were with him. But the people of Nazareth could not cope with the young boy who had grown beyond their boundaries. They put him in a box. And he was supposed to remain in that box, and keep on being the young unskilled boy that they knew. He had a family name on the box. He was supposed to remain a helpless child forever, without a voice of his own. He was supposed to remain defined in that way … always. He was not supposed to come there and do miracles and heal and teach with authority.

So Jesus departed from this box. He healed and taught people in the surrounding villages.

Now, this is such an empowering and liberating story. And it is so relevant in a time when people put each other in boxes, labeling them in terms of HIV and AIDS.

You may be affected by HIV and AIDS. But you ARE not HIV or AIDS. HIV or AIDS may be part of your life. But it does not define you. You are much more. You are a person with human dignity. You are a person worthy in God’s eyes. You are a person who can work, and think, and love and reach out to other people.

You are a person with a life and a voice.

May life be good to you, and you be good to life.

Author: Landman C (Prof)
Language: English

Leave a Reply
