Mark 2 -- the center of attention

Charisma. Everyone knows who has it. Those who don't are mystified, and envious. An episode of the old TV show Cheers centered around a visit from Sam's charismatic brother. The viewer never saw the brother -- just the noisy, cheerful crowd that always surrounded him, with enthusiastic individuals occasionally breaking away from the throng to display some new ability, some new insight, some new encouraging thought.

Attention. None of us ever seems to have enough of it. Yet charismatic people pay it, spend it lavishly, and have more than enough to give away. We on the fringes only see them soaking it up, and wonder why nobody is as fascinated with our own amazing persons!

The energy around Jesus attracts four guys with a paralyzed friend, crippled in body and soul.

The energy swirling around Jesus attracts a tax collector, and his slimy, disreputable friends. When the "nice" people mutter about the kind of company Jesus keeps, the Teacher says, these are the kind of people I'd rather hang around with, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Mar 2:16 Ferisiler'den* bazı din bilginleri, O'nu günahkârlar ve vergi görevlileriyle birlikte yemekte görünce öğrencilerine, "Niçin vergi görevlileri ve günahkârlarla birlikte yemek yiyor?" diye sordular.
Mar 2:17 Bunu duyan İsa onlara, "Sağlamların değil, hastaların hekime ihtiyacı var"

The nattering nabobs of negativity wonder why his disciples don't fast, and Jesus tells them -- There's a party going on! A time of festive celebration!

Sorry, folks, I'm not here to tinker with the existing order, I represent a whole new order. And those who aren't too embedded in the current order have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor![1]

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[1] This idiom comes from the stock market. Folks who "get in on the ground floor" purchase stock in a company at the initial public offering for a price that looks trivial later, when the value of the stock soars. Many Microsoft employees became millionaires, for example.