Mark 1:21-45 Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit, Peter’s mother-in-law, and a leper.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus gets right into things. Of course, in Mark’s Gospel everything happens immediately. There are not wasted words or wasted energy in Mark. In just 25 verses of today’s reading, Jesus confronts and casts out an unclean spirit, heals Simon’s mother-in-law, heals the crowd, travels through Galilee teaching and casting out demons, and then healing this leper. In between, Jesus hides. He goes off on his own. And he prays.
Of course, the hiding isn’t the impressive part of the story. We’re all about the healings, the casting outs, the teaching. We think that the impressive part of the passage is how much Jesus gets done. Why can’t we be more like Jesus? Why can’t we be busier? Why can’t we get as much done as Jesus does?
Are we sneaking off to pray? Are we getting down and alone time? Are we caught up in the works, and missing the foundational preparation? If we want to be like Jesus, then perhaps we need to step aside, step out of the busy, to get some quiet time, and some quiet time in prayer with God.
