We may need to refresh our memory by noting that today's gospel text is one of four controversy stories in Mark 2:1--3:6. Jesus performed a burst of healings and exorcisms in chapter 1 which captured the admiration of the crowds (Mark 1:45; 2:12). With a new set of stories that end in 3:6 we find Jesus mired in constant controversy. These stories end on an ominous note (Mark 3:6). The leaders of the Jewish people come off in these stories in such a way as to suggest to some that they are the hearers of whom Jesus spoke in the Parable of the Sower when he said: "... when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them" (Mark 4:15).

Mary Ann Tolbert had noted for us that the section of Mark's Gospel which covers 1:16--2:12 begins with the calling of disciples…