"And There He Prayed"
Mark 1:29-39
Mark’s Gospel moves at a
breathless pace. One scene fades quickly into another and then another. Over the past few weeks, In the sweep of a few verses, we’ve
heard how John the Baptist gathers the crowds, preaches “the forgiveness of
sins”, and announces the good news. Jesus arrives and is baptized and the
heavens split and a voice announces “You are my Son, the beloved, with whom I
am well pleased.”
Jesus announces that
the “good news” of God’s reign has already arrived and calls people to repent
and believe the good news. Then Jesus calls people to follow him and fish for
people, and immediately they followed him. Then they go to the synagogue in Capernaum on
the Sabbath, where the crowds were astounded at the authority of his teaching
and his power to cast out demonic powers.
Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the region of Galilee.
That’s where we pick up the story
today. Today’s gospel lesson can be divided up into four scenes, in two
settings.
Scene 1. As soon as they leave the synagogue, they go to the house
of Simon Peter and Andrew, with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law is sick
in bed with a fever. Jesus heals her, and she’s restored and able to serve.
Scene 2. That evening, they
brought all who were sick or possessed with demons to Jesus. Mark tells us the whole city was gathered around
the door. Jesus cured many who were sick
with various diseases, and cast out many demons.
Scene 3. In the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and
went out to a deserted place, and “there he prayed.”
Scene 4. Simon and his
companions found Jesus and said, “Everyone is searching for you.” And Jesus
answered, “Let’s go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the
message there also, for that is what I came out to do.” And
Jesus went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and
casting out demons.
Jesus’ mission is to proclaim the
gospel and cast out demons and bring healing, and that’s what he was doing. People
who were sick, hopeless, and desperate came to him because he offered a glimmer
of hope in a hopeless and dismal world.
The demanding
crowds came because they wanted
something... because Jesus had what they
wanted most... what they couldn’t find
anywhere else-- health of mind and body.
Wholeness. They came for his
healing touch.
The demand
of the crowd upon Jesus' life was great.
So much so that "in the morning, while it was still very dark, he
got up and went out to a deserted place to pray.
Jesus
realized he couldn't give out to others anymore. As I was working on this passage, I
remembered the instructions you get when you fly, about the
oxygen masks that drop down in emergency situations. If I were flying with a child or an elderly
relative or anyone needing assistance, my first instinct would be to take care
of them first. But the flight attendants
caution you to put on your own oxygen mask first. Otherwise, you could pass out before you have
a chance to help anybody else.
The
whole
city had been pressing in around the door-- people who were sick or possessed with
demons. Jesus must have been
exhausted from ministering to those who were so desperate... so needy.
So, Jesus
went someplace where he could be alone, away from the cries of the
needy, the demands of people, the insistence that he do something. It wasn't
that he didn't care about the needs of the people who sought him. Rather it was a matter of staying connected
with God, so that he could maintain a clear sense of purpose.
How easy
it is for our lives to be cluttered with the needs and demands of others. We find ourselves going in several different
directions at one time.
Pastors and
different kinds of caregivers often deal with people who are possessed by
grief or fear or terror that will not let them go. People are struggling with addictions of
various kinds, whether to alcohol or drugs or gambling or work or something
else. People are suffering from mental
or physical illness. Others are confused
and agonizing over various issues. Some or desperately lonely. People are poor... hungry...
homeless or in woefully inadequate housing. Everywhere we look, there is such pain... such need.
In our
families, our children, even if they're adults, need us. Elderly parents and other relatives need our
care.
Such
need. Such busy-ness.
Sometimes I
wonder if we think we are the busiest people who ever lived on the
face of the earth. We end up doing a lot
of things, but sometimes we wonder why we don’t have more of a sense of fulfillment
or accomplishment. We might feel
overwhelmed…or find ourselves on the edge of burnout.
As someone
pointed out, burnout isn't the result of too much activity. It's the result of the wrong kind
of activity. Or it can be from how we
approach it. Instead of energizing and
building us up, it can wear us down and sap our energy.
When I read
the gospels, I get the impression that Jesus couldn't have been much busier if
he’d had a smart phone. Yet, in spite of
his busyness and the nonstop demands on his time, Jesus knew he needed time to
get away and put things in perspective...and to gain a clear
understanding of God and God's purpose.
When we
read through the gospels, we discover that there’s a pattern in Jesus’ life. He
worshipped regularly with his community of faith, and he got away regularly for
time alone to pray. This is how he stayed centered in God’s love and purpose
and found balance in his life.
If Jesus
needed to do this, how much more do we need to do it?
Yes, we're busy.
So busy. But when we find ourselves feeling too busy
to worship
and
pray, we need to ask ourselves-- are we busy doing the wrong
things? The images in the gospel
story remind us that we need to do what Jesus did-- get away and spend time
in prayer... meditate...
and seek God's will.
So often, over
the years, I’ve heard myself saying, “When things calm
down, then I'll have some time alone.
I'll have more time to pray and meditate." (Although
I'm happy to report that I hear myself saying it less than I used to.)
In recent years, I’ve made it a priority to make a silent
retreat. I find a time in my schedule when I can be away for a few days and
call the retreat center to see if they can accommodate me. I pack up whatever
work and reading I want to take, and food, and drive to Gilchrist. While I’m
there, I have to walk over toward the office to get a cell signal. There’s no
TV or radio. Just my playlists on my phone so I can listen to music from Taizé or Iona or other meditative music. I
structure my day around simple meals, work, long walks, reading, and
prayer. Sometimes I go for several days
without talking to anyone. “And there, I pray.”
Jesus knew
it would never calm down. He couldn't
wait for that to happen. He set time
aside to spend in prayer and
meditation, very intentionally.
"In the morning while it was
still very dark." This sounds
like something I learned when I had a young child: the only quiet time parents have is after the
children go to bed at night or early in
the morning before they wake up. That's
when I got in the habit of staying up late to read and have my quiet time.
We need to
be intentional in planning our quiet time.
Some folk find quiet time in their cars-- away from telephones and
interruptions-- by turning off their radios and cell phones. One
or two of you have shared with me that you pray for others while you're
commuting to work. Others find quiet
time when they walk... or in the garden, as I do.
Why is this
time apart so important?
Look what happens
here. Just as we are likely to get
interrupted by a child running into the room or the clock striking or the
telephone ringing, Jesus' followers who were hunting for him find him and say, "Everyone is looking for you!"
Some of us
are in positions--in work or family life-- where someone always has something
more for us to do. If we don’t learn to stop and discern and to occasionally
say “No,” we’ll always be piling on more and more things to do.
Sometimes,
if we’re honest with ourselves, we need to admit that it feels good to be so
busy and sought after. We might feel a swell of pride rising: "Look at
me! I'm important! I'm needed!
They love me."
We run
from sunup to sundown. Chasing and being
chased by responsibilities and expectations. Sometimes it can feel as if we're possessed by all the responsibilities
and by our need to be the important caregiver and achiever.
This morning
we come to the table of our Lord. The
pace is slowed. It can be for us a
moment of withdrawal... a time to catch
your breath. A moment to reflect upon
the bread, the body of Christ... and
the cup, the blood of Christ. A time for
our spirits to be fed! A time for us to
accept Christ's healing touch in our lives.
God's love
for us at this moment becomes so visible...
so personal... so close... and so reassuring. We come to the Table, and God through Christ
again offers God’s very self to us.
This is my
body, broken for you...
This is my
blood-- for you...
Let us
taste, and see that the Lord is good!
Amen!
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor
Littlefield Presbyterian Church
Dearborn, Michigan
February 4, 2018
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