Context No. 886 of 4322 · Mark
Context · Reflection
Mark 1:32-37: in context
32At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by demons. 33All the city was gathered together at the door. 34He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there. 36Simon and those who were with him searched for him. 37They found him and told him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
It is the first burst of Jesus' public ministry in Mark. At sundown the whole town brings its sick and demon-oppressed to the door, and Jesus heals many and casts out many demons late into the night. Then, very early, while it is still dark, he gets up, slips out to a deserted place, and prays. Simon and the others hunt him down and tell him, with a hint of reproach, everyone is looking for you.
Set the two scenes next to each other. The night before, Jesus is mobbed, the entire city at the door, needs pressing in from every side, and he meets them. Then, before dawn, he pulls away from all of it to be alone with the Father. He does not run on the momentum of yesterday's crowds or on their demand for more; he goes back to the source first. When the disciples find him, their message is essentially, the crowd is waiting, come make the most of the popularity. But Jesus, having prayed, sets a different course, telling them they will move on to the next towns, because that is what he came for. The prayer in the dark is what keeps the crowd from setting his agenda. Even the Son of God, or rather especially the Son of God, does not let a full day of ministry replace time alone with the Father, and it is out of that hidden time that he knows what to do with the noisy day.
When my days fill up with real and good demands, do I still pull away to the quiet place first, or do I let the crowd at the door decide where I go?