Mark 1:29-39
29 As soon as they left the
synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30
Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her
at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever
left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sundown, they
brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole
city was gathered around the door. 34 And he cured many who were sick with
various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons
to speak, because they knew him. 35 In the morning, while it was still very
dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And
Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to
him, "Everyone is searching for you." 38 He answered, "Let us go
on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for
that is what I came out to do." 39 And he went throughout Galilee,
proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
In
the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted
place, and there he prayed.
·
There are
two very interesting incidents in our reading from Mark today. The first is
right up front and gets a lot of attention; this is the healing of Peter’s
mother-in-law and the curing of the many sick and possessed from the
neighborhood. His ministry of healing and exorcism is very important because it
shows the presence of the kingdom of God in a very tangible way.
·
What I’m
talking about is the healing of the woman known as Peter’s mother-in-law. I
only know of one way to get a mother-in-law; Peter was married at some point.
His wife is never mentioned nor are any children noted. Still Peter had a
living mother-in-law and she lived with Peter and Andrew, his brother.
·
The second and
less noted is Jesus going out to pray. We all know that Jesus prayed. He gave
us the prayer we recall as “the Lord’s Prayer.” He prayed before raising
Lazarus from the dead. According to John, Jesus prays at the Last Supper;
that’s called the Priestly Prayer which is the entire 17th chapter
of the Gospel of John.
·
The Gospels
note a number of times that Jesus prayed alone in deserted places. What Jesus’
prayer was like during the times he went off to “a deserted place” is something
we don’t know. He was sometimes disturbed by his disciples coming to find him
since his presence and his ministry were very much in demand by so many people.
·
Why would
Jesus go off by himself to pray? The first time he did this was right after his
baptism by John. Mark says the Spirit
immediately drove him out into the wilderness where he stayed for
forty days with wild beasts, the devil who tempted him, and the angels who
waited on him.
·
One goes to
the deserted places to be alone and to avoid distraction. Our cities are busy
places and in the past (and even today) people go to calmer places to get away
from distractions. In his book, Walden, Henry
David Thoreau wrote “I went to the woods
because I wished to live deliberately… and not, when I came to die, discover
that I had not lived.” However, it is good to remember that “calmer” does
not necessarily mean “safer.” After all, other things already make their homes
in the deserted places.
·
The
deserted places are Biblical reminders of Israel’s time of wandering in the
desert. As horrible as that sounds, the people of Israel looked back at that
time as something special. During that wandering, they were totally dependant
on God for everything – food, water, and direction. In short, the desert was a
place of encountering God on God’s terms.
·
How does
one pray in a place like that? It appears that there are very few rules when it
comes to prayer. Specific words or postures are not needed. A quiet heart is
needed and that’s harder than we might think, since when we go to pray, it’s
very much like clearing sand from a flat place; every sweep allows more sand to
cascade in. A quiet space in the heart seems to dare every concern from every
space in our lives to surface and demand attention.
·
Over the
years, I have had questions on prayer… and I received some answers. Here are a
few things I have learned:
·
Pray as you can and not as you can’t. It may seem silly, but we can waste a lot of time
and effort trying to pray in ways that don’t suit us. Listen to your heart and
the Holy Spirit.
·
I asked a
pastor I trusted how to pray. He responded “Want to.” No matter where we
are, what words we use, or even if we don’t use words, when we want to pray, we
are praying. At times the simple awareness of God’s presence is prayer.
·
Never doubt
that God hears our prayers and that God is pleased to have us pray. God wants
us to pray; that’s how we remain in contact with God, even if we should
fall asleep while praying.
·
If Jesus
felt he had to pray and would go to such lengths to pray, like early rising and
going to deserted places, we have a real example of the importance of praying.
He needed to and he wanted to. If that’s good enough for Jesus, well, why not
us?
In
the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted
place, and there he prayed.
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