Rising very early before dawn,
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
The Lord's ministry of preaching, prophecy, and healing begins with prayer. The longer I live the more I realize how useless my frenetic activity can be. Driven by an anxious desire to prove my worth, my acceptability, my usefulness, and my readiness to meet others' expectations, I have little time for prayer.
It's easy enough to blame the culture in which I live. Profoundly disturbed by its violent practices of abortion, imprisonment, capital punishment, and exploitation, it does not dare to slow down and ask, "What are we doing here?" It must drive its children to success even at the risk of pushing them toward failure, exhaustion, and suicide.
Anyone who withdraws to prayer challenges that fearful anxiety. A consumer culture approves only those relaxations which must be purchased like sea cruises and exotic vacations. Speaking to an unknown god is not acceptable. In response, it employs the demons who are implanted in every mind like the moles of foreign agents to drive the prayerful back to work.
Rising very early before dawn, Jesus left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. The gospels invite us to rise and go with him. Hearing his voice, we respond like the boy Samuel, "Here I am!"
If we're anxious like the boy who was growing up in the service of the old priest Eli, we might misunderstand the midnight call. We might respond with, "What do you want? How can I help? What do you need?" Or worse, "I am sorry but I was sleeping!"
The boy teaches us a better response, "Here I am!" for that may be all the Lord requires of us. "Here I am with you."
As we read the Gospel of Saint Mark we will learn that the work of the apostles was to be with Jesus.
When Peter and the disciples found the Lord praying in solitude, he expressed our anxiety. "Everyone is looking for you!" He reminded the Master that we have our expectations of who you are and what you're about. He was ready to say, "Don't let us down! You've made a great start but you've got a lot more work to do! You're on your way to success!"
But Jesus was not on his way to success, and Peter was not ready to hear, "Let us go on to the nearby villages...." He could not yet understand that Jesus obeys only one God, and his compassion for the pitiful is a work carried out in obedience to the mission his Father has given him.
Our prayer, our presence, and our work begins in obedience; doing anything else is wasted energy. There is only one God; the rest are demons. He calls us by name into silence, solitude, and prayer. Given the hopeless condition of our world, that may be the most useful thing we do every day.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.