Reflection -- Getting the Job Done

As we observed last week, Saint Mark is a man of few words.  His account of Jesus’ life and ministry is told in a way that is a little like modern television news.  It’s the written equivalent of “sound bites.”  In a clear-cut battle between good and evil, big things happen in a sentence.  Many things happen in a few verses.  Everything tends to happen immediately. 

In less than 30 verses of the first chapter we have seen John the Baptist arrive on the scene, baptize Jesus, and go.  Jesus has been tempted in the desert for 40 days.  He has begun his ministry in the region of Galilee, called his first 4 disciples, taught in Capernaum, and healed a man with an “unclean spirit.”  By verse 28, “his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.”  Wheeeeee!

Today’s part of the story keeps up the pace.  Jesus heals Simon’s [Peter’s] mother-in-law of a fever.  Later that day, he heals people from all over the region who have come to see these marvels and hear him teach.  He then goes out to towns throughout Galilee to tell people the good news of God’s love and to demonstrate it though restoring lives.

Undoubtedly, things did happen in a hurry.  Jesus changed the world in only 3 years!  The rapidity with which he did this gives us considerable pause when we realize that we are to live our own lives in imitation of the life of our Master Teacher.  We too are charged with conveying the good news in word and action and there comes a time when that mission is NOW!  Otherwise, we will be found wanting like the rejected servant who buried his/her talent in the ground.

But getting caught up in the hurried pace of Mark’s gospel, or of our own lives of service, can lead us to forget some important things.  Productive action follows some hard work.  Jesus accomplished a great deal in a short period of time, but everything was preceded with preparation.  Jesus did not begin his ministry until he was 30.  The ratio of his ministry to his preparation was 10 to 1!

There is something else that is easy to miss in Mark’s rapid-fire writing.  The fuel that drove Jesus’ ministry is described in passing in just a verse:  “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” 

Perhaps one of the most important things we can learn from Jesus is that our own ministries can not be effective unless we keep the lines of communication open.  Jesus says this, at John 12:49-50:  “for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.  And I know that his commandment is eternal life.  What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”

Charging off to do wonderful things for Jesus is a worthy goal, but we can’t escape the hard work that must proceed it if we are to be successful.  Remember that idea of 10 to 1 preparation!  If you want to be effective, know all you can; especially know all you can about Jesus -- how he lived and died and what he taught.  Dig deep!  There are great riches to be discovered.

When you have the knowledge, and even while you are acquiring it, don’t forget that meaningful living is not something we do on our own.  There is simply no substitute for prayer.  Living without prayer is like trying to engage effectively in physical work without food for strength.  Prayer is the energizer of the soul. 

Talk to your Creator often; not with flowery formal language but from your heart.  At the center of your heart is where God wants to be!  When God is there, you too can change the world around you.

revclay

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Mark 1:29-39

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 

Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told [Jesus] about her at once.  He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.  Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.  And the whole city was gathered around the door.  And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.  And Simon and his companions hunted for him.  When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." 

He answered, "Let us 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 he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. 

[NRSV]