LET US GO ELSEWHERE
The first
day, as Mark records it, of Jesus’ ministry ends in triumph. ‘The whole town
came crowding round the door.’ He was instantly famous and the disciples knew
it and bathed in his reflected glory. They wanted more. ‘Everyone is looking
for you’, they said and they expected him to go on building up his reputation.
He could be
‘The Prophet of Capernaum’. He could build a following. There could be a little
‘contribution’ for each healing. The money would roll in. No need for that
laborious fishing all night in the dark, in the cold, in the wet. He could
build a stadium, an amphitheatre, like the Romans did. And he could build a
palace nearby. It would be great and we would get our share.
But, no. He
said, ‘Let us go elsewhere’. He was not at all happy. They had completely
misunderstood what he was doing. They delighted in the healing but he had not
come just to work wonders, to enjoy status. He wanted to heal them in their
deepest selves. He knew it would cost them a lot. And it would cost him a lot
to show them the way. It would require them to change. That would be painful. But
the result would be deep peace, happiness.
We have
just emerged from 40 days of Christmas. The child in the arms of Simeon in the
temple closes the infancy introduction of the Messiah. ‘This child is for the
rise of many’ - if they get the message. If they changed their way of thinking.
But there would be opposition - from vested interests.
Some
understood. Slowly, they got the message. ‘Here is something new.’ They found
joy in their new life. And this was what Jesus wanted. He did not want fame or
fuss. He just wanted people to get in touch with the core of their being. To
move from the tyranny of the immediate concerns of family, work, relationships
– important as they are. He wanted them to ‘go elsewhere’, to go deeper, to begin
to sense they are made to share in the divine life.
‘You
believe just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater
things than that!’ Nathaniel went ‘elsewhere’ with Jesus. He saw immediately he
was the Messiah. He came to grasp he had to go beyond his Jewish traditions. He
had to change. To grow. It was a tough journey, following Jesus. But he got the
point. And the early Christians did too. And the Church was born. It still
struggles with people misunderstanding. It always will – until the end.
4 February
2024 Sunday 5 B Job 7:1-7 1
Cor 9:16…23 Mk 1:29-39
No comments:
Post a Comment