A Day In the Life
Mark 1:29-39 describes a “day in the life” of Jesus. Jesus teaches, heals, and exorcises the demonic. Jesus is going from dusk to dawn. No healing is too large or too small for his attention. The story concludes with Jesus going to a deserted place for prayer. His time of prayer connects him with God and gives him a clear sense of mission.
Whether in our "sacred" or "secular" lives (as if we could separate them) we tend to polarize action and contemplation. Too often we latch onto a mission as either spiritual or activist or political or contemplative. Throughout Mark’s Gospel, action and contemplation are reliant on one another. Jesus is always on the move, constantly responding to human need. Yet, Jesus regularly retreats for prayer and reflection. Moments of quiet, such as the one described in Mark 1:35-39, enable Jesus to maintain his spiritual center, to continue discovering his relationship with the God of all creation. In the case of today’s reading, Jesus’ quiet time fortifies his sense of calling to all Israel (and the whole of the world beyond) not merely the village of Capernaum.
May we seek always to join contemplation and action, prayer and productivity, and sabbath and community involvement in our "sacred" and our "secular" time with one another and our neighbors.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan