The Heart of God

 

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 147:1-6; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39

“Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.  For this purpose have I come.”
Mark 1:38

Come with me on a day in the life of Jesus as recorded by St. Mark.  The day in question is a Sabbath.  It begins in Mark 1:21, from last weekend’s Gospel reading.  Jesus enters a town called Capernaum.  It is the hometown of Peter and Andrew.  While they are at the synagogue a man who is demon-possessed begins to cry out.  Jesus rebukes the demon and delivers the man.  Then they leave the synagogue and go to Peter’s house where Jesus heals his mother-in-law of a fever.  Word gets out and they bring all kinds of people who are ill and demon-possessed and Jesus heals the sick and drives out the demons.  This must have taken a good portion of the night.  So after a full day of ministry Jesus finally gets some rest.  Does He sleep in the next day?  No.  He rises early and goes out to a solitary place in order to pray.

Jesus must have been exhausted, yet he rises a great while before dawn without an alarm clock.  How did He do it?  Why did He do it?  And what can we learn from it?

First, how did He do it?  The only reasonable answer is that He simply did what He was accustomed to do.  Jesus must have had a long standing habit of rising very early in the morning to pray.  It makes sense.  If He spent His adult years until roughly 30 years old as a carpenter then the early morning hours before dawn would be one of the only times He could count on the peace and quiet necessary to have deep, unbroken communion with His Father.  If that’s true then Jesus simply did what He had always been doing. 

Second, why did He do it?  He did it because this was His favorite part of the day.  He didn’t live to be adored by the crowds.  He didn’t relish the awesome displays of His divine power.  He eagerly anticipated every moment He had to commune with the Father.  Remember how hard it was to sleep on Christmas Eve.  Even if you went to Midnight Mass and you were so tired you couldn’t even remember going to bed, yet you woke eagerly in the morning because you anticipated the gifts you were going to receive on Christmas morning.  I believe it was something similar that got Jesus up each morning.  He couldn’t wait to see what His Father had for Him on that day.

What do we learn from it?  We learn the priority of seeking God.  Furthermore, we begin to see what it is to seek the heart of God.  If you don’t already have a consistent habit of rising early for prayer, this would be a great time to start.  Why early morning?  Because you’re fresh and at your best.  Because no one is likely to call or text.  It offers the best opportunity to quiet yourself and plunge deep into the abyss of the loving heart of God.  Sounds great in theory, you say, but what if we’re not used to getting up early?  Ah, there’s a simple solution to this problem, known to every military drill sergeant: force yourself to get up at the hour desired, no matter how early.  By the end of the day you will be plenty tired and fall asleep.  Then the new pattern takes root.

To seek God first thing in the morning says nothing is more important.  It is a great way to put things in perspective.  If the day holds unpleasant surprises you are already fortified with the grace gained from prayer rather than scrambling to find some on the fly.  If you wait until the middle of the day it will be too difficult to extricate yourself from the day’s business.  And if you wait until the end of the day you are normally too tired.  Jesus prayed at both the beginning and the end of the day.  While that would be a great habit, beginning with prayer at the opening of the day is a good place to start.

But that’s not all we can learn from this Gospel.  When the disciples go to look for Jesus and finally find Him, He offers this statement: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.  For this purpose have I come.”  Jesus demonstrates that someone who routinely seeks the heart of God demonstrates the heart of God to others.  There’s a restless, chaotic pace to St. Mark’s Gospel.  He reveals Jesus as someone constantly on the go.  But why?  Not because He is a “Type A” personality, but because there are more people who need what only He can offer.

Did you notice how often St. Mark mentioned the demon-possessed in this one day?  Jesus encounters a demoniac at the synagogue [vv. 23-26].  He delivered numerous people from demons that arrived at Peter’s house [v. 34].  And He goes on to the other towns where He drives out demons in those areas as well [v. 39].  Why does Jesus heal the sick and drive out demons?  Because He is demonstrating the Gospel He is preaching.  Jesus doesn’t just talk a good game.  He backs it up.  The Gospel is good news because we can be set free from sin.  And to prove it we see Jesus taking on the effects of sin- sickness and demonic activity.

As members of His body we have a vital role to play in our world today.  We are charged with bringing His Gospel to the nations.  It’s a daunting, and quite honestly, impossible task.  However, that is why we need to grasp the first part.  In prayer we seek and apprehend the heart of God.  And from prayer we bring the heart of God into this world.  If there’s no prayer, there’s no ministry.  We’re just a faint echo of the voice of God, or worse, we become an obnoxious noise.  Prayer is what makes the difference.  Daily moments spent in His presence, being filled with His grace transform our meager efforts into miraculous moments.  The sick are healed, the oppressed are set free, and the sinner is saved and made fit for the kingdom of heaven.

I’m tired of watching the devil win the battles.  He only wins by default- when we don’t show up!  Once we’re immersed in Christ- which happens through daily, consistent prayer- there’s nothing that can stop us. 

No matter how crazy your life is right now I invite you to find this place of prayer- this desert place where we encounter the Father’s heart.  It was vital for Jesus.  It’s imperative for us.  Here, the craziness stops and the peace of God reigns supreme. 

Have you found this place?  Let’s go and seek Him there.  And when we’ve been there, let’s listen for the places He wants to send us… to bring His heart into the world!