And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them.
After healing Simon’s mother-in-law, word continued to spread about Jesus’ healing power. The story reads that as the sun was setting, many many sick people came to be healed. Jesus laid his hands on all of them and healed them. I can imagine this went well into the night. The story continues that at daybreak, Jesus retreated to a deserted place. If I try to put myself in Jesus’ place, it’s no wonder he deserted. I can imagine it was an exhausting evening, what with all that healing, and demons, and commotion.
The story picks up with this line, that the crowds went looking for him. Wouldn’t you think they’d know he both wanted and needed to be alone a little? But no, they hunt him down and then try to prevent him from leaving the area. But with more grace than I’d have, Jesus graciously declines their offer to stay, explaining he needs to continuing on proclaiming the good news.
This morning, I’m thinking about the dance between proclaiming the Good News, the resulting healing, and subsequent retreating. Jesus proclaimed the Good News, showed people what it looked like in action, and eventually retreated and moved on to start this all over again.
It’s a healthy pattern that has a few great results. First, it expands the circle of those who hear the Good News. Jesus could have stayed in one spot and addressed all their needs, but what about the other places? Rather, he moved on to expose others to God’s love. His moving on created a space for others to pick up the mantle and continue service, inspired by God’s Love. Finally, Jesus’ retreating restored him.
I want to see the balance between proclaiming, healing, and retreating, and want to explore how to adjust that balance in my world. Or at least consider it.
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