“Even when mobbed”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, July 21, 2024
Mark 6: 30-34, 53-66 (Forward, p. 84) CEV p. 1034
In reading today’s account, I cannot help but get the impression that Jesus was extremely popular, perhaps too popular ‘for His own good.’ For instance, in verse 31 we read “so many people were coming and going. that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat.’ Such can be the price of popularity.
So, Jesus did the only wise and sensible thing: He decided to get them away for a bit, away from ‘these maddening crowds’. He figured that they need to be in some place where they could be alone. I think that this was probably necessary on two counts, firstly to ‘recharge’ their batteries, get some rest, get a proper meal, lessen the pressure and demands, etc. But also, I think that it was a good idea for them to have a time of debriefing, to talk together about their recent missions trip (see Mark 6:7, 12-13).
But sadly, this was not to be. The crowds anticipated where Jesus was going and got there ahead of He and the disciples. Furthermore, they seemed like ‘sheep without a shepherd’ and He felt compassion for them. And so, He shelved ‘His best laid plans of mice and men’ and ministered to them. Jesus was always there, always ready to help. Truly, He was ‘Emmanuel’, God with us. And so it is with Jesus, even now. Jesus is always here, always available, always ready to help us. All we need to do is ask.
Forward notes: “Wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms,…all who touched [Jesus’s cloak] were healed” (verse 56).
“Jesus meets the world where it is and heals wherever he goes. He teaches from boats and heals people in his own home (with the roof torn off, no less). Even Jesus’s normal, everyday clothing can restore people’s health! All of a sudden, the boundary between what is God’s house and the rest of the world is gone. God’s power is not constrained by a physical building. And Jesus heals, miraculously feeds the hungry, and forgives sins in that open space between the holy and the mundane. By becoming human, Jesus blows the lid off any neat distinction between the sacred and the everyday and heals the wounds of human life.
MOVING FORWARD: “Is there a division between your ‘church’ life and your ‘everyday’ life? How can you heal that division and honour the sacred every day?”
A concluding note: our author is suggesting that the ‘house’ mentioned in chapter 2 is Jesus’ own home, but that is by no means certain. More likely it was Simon Peter’s home. After all, Jesus Himself said that the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:19-20; Luke 9: 57-58).