I love this story. Across the four gospels, it's one of my favorites. However, the version in Mark is a bit short, so I might choose to retell the story from the Gospel of Luke chapter 5. It's essentially the same story just with more details. I really want to write it from Simon Peter's perspective. He is my favorite disciple, and arguably Jesus' as well. I would also like to parallel this story with the one at the end of the Book of John in chapter 21, when a similar situation occurs, but Peter's reaction to Jesus is in stark contrast with his earlier one. The big question for me is if I'd choose to write it as Peter as the narrator or have it be some third person omniscient narrator.
The paralyzed man and his three loyal friends-
This is the story found in the beginning of Mark 2. It's a quick story of a couple guys climbing unto a building and lowering their friend down to be healed by Jesus. It's a heart warming story of the faith and dedication these friends had for their downfallen brother. Not to mention a great story about the healing powers of Jesus. My retelling of the story would definitely center around the friends trying to convince their paralyzed friend to come meet Jesus, and then the comical way in which they go about getting him to the man. I feel like it has some great opportunity for laughs (as the situation itself is somewhat silly), but also great opportunity for heartfelt moments as well.
The Calling of Saint Peter and Saint Andrew (Left) & The Palsied Man Let Down Through the Roof (Right)
Created by French painter James Tissot; Source: Wikimedia Commons
Bibliography: Gospel of Mark KJV
Just to say thank you for putting Tissot images in your post here: I like his art so much! There's a Tissot in today's class announcements too:
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Woah, nice! I didn't even notice that one. I discovered him while typing this up and really like what I've seen so far.
DeleteAnd I just sent back notes on your project ideas which all sound so good... and you could also consider an art-inspired project: if you want to do Bible stories where your telling of the story is somehow inspired by Tissot's visual depictions, that would also make a super project. The level of detail and the emotional quality of his art is something that could really inspire some good stories!
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