Mark 1:35-39: Jesus Leaves Capernaum
Monday, August 22, 2022
The healing presence of Jesus is rejected when he walks among those who knew him from childhood; and so . . . rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. We might take comfort that even Jesus is turned away by those closest to him. Simon Peter says to Jesus when he searches for and finally finds him: Everyone is looking for you. But are they? Are we?
We seek Christ in the quiet of a stolen moment only to find him in the chaos of the world. Everyone is looking for you.
We enact Jesus in the ordered giving of our surplus only to be asked to give him from that which we were keeping to sustain us. Everyone is looking for you.
We promise Christ that we will follow when all is settled and once we have time to think and prepare only to discover that we follow Jesus most closely in the spur-of-the-moment acts that come through us from Christ’s universal heart. Everyone is looking for you.
Mark’s Gospel is brief and lightning quick, much like Jesus’ physical time on earth with humanity. Mark’s story is powerful and concise, much like the trajectory of Jesus public ministry. Mark’s good news is embracing in its scope and mysterious in its stark detail, much like the presence of the risen Christ among us.
Over the coming days we will also leave the known world that we have created for ourselves to examine more closely a number of aspects of Mark’s story . . . as we too search for Christ . . . as we too create our own evocative and significant story of leaving Capernaum.
Tomorrow, Jesus calls his followers.
Today, we use the scripture link above to compare different versions of these verses , and to open our comfort zone to the possibilities of our own public ministry.
For more on the town of Capernaum, visit: http://bibleatlas.org/capernaum.htm
Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vasily_Alexandrovich_Kotarbi%C5%84ski_-_The_sermon_at_Capernaum.jpg
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