The man got up, and immediately took up his mat, and went out before them all; at which they were amazed, and, as they praised God, they said, “We have never seen anything like this!”
just when we thought
we knew the argument
we were best able to win
along comes experienceour references and proofs
marshaled to end debate
suddenly evaporate
when someone simply walks outwe knew every loophole
and had each covered
until we were moot-ized
by standing without permissionwhat is this world coming to
when accumulated wisdom
falls before our eyes
when godly prestige is for naughthow long do we sit and mourn
an unexpected application
of plain everyday speech
carrying this and subsequent daysit is time to rebalance authority
that trained expectations will hold
that our majority will determine virtue
a motive for murder surfaces
Here is that word BANG again. This time it has to do with human response rather than Jesus bopping around hither and yon.
This shift in attention has led some scholars to think that “immediately” is too strong a word and is not applicable here. It would seem that human urgency is slower than some divine urgency. Theological constructs do affect the way we talk and think.
If you are willing to consider that Jesus’ quickness to respond with attention and mercy is a positive value, it would appear beneficial to practice that same premeditated nimbleness.
How do we let go of previous boundaries or restrictions? This question pushs toward a path with more delineated steps, such as a Buddhist way to deal with suffering.
ἐξίστημι (existēmi, astounded, amazed) is even stronger than it sounds—in a driven-mad sort of way. Richard W. Swanson suggests it can only be translated with a made-up word. He suggests “ecstasied”. Try this in a variety of places in Mark as well as in hymns about a supposedly awesome god to see how it fits for you.