Staying on mission

After being baptized by John, Jesus went into the wilderness where for 40 days he was tempted by Satan. Jesus’ public ministry is now beginning so after choosing his first disciples he went to Capernaum where on the Sabbath he drove a demon out of a woman and then spent the rest of the day healing all sorts of diseases. From there he goes to the home of Peter and cures the disciple’s mother of a bad fever, after which he heals the many townspeople who came for help of every sort. What a day! Early the following morning he got up and went to a solitary place to pray.  When Peter found him with news of all the people who were anxiously waiting to be healed, he said, “No, I’m leaving for another village to preach because “that is why I have come” (Mark 1:38) and off he went travelling throughout Galilee to fulfill his appointed ministry. Two things stand out for me; one, his need to pray, and, two, his commitment to the task appointed by his Father.
       One might think that the constant stream of miracles and the impact of expeling demons would be so dramatically impressive that for the moment he could give his undivided attention to the spiritual and physical needs of the throng of people waiting for his help. But Jesus is fully aware of the fact that while all he had been doing was an important part of his ministry it could not have happened apart from his prayer life. And if Jesus, in the midst of a wonderful ministry of healing, set it aside for time to pray, what should be said about our need of the same kind of spiritual contact with God the Father! Spiritual victories are won, not on the fields of battle, but in the preparation for the coming conflict.
       The other point is Jesus’ unwavering commitment to the task assigned. If his work was to be carried out in our day we’d begin by appointing a committee to write the mission statement, by determining the itinerary so we will be in the strategic places at just the right times. One gets the feeling that the common mentality considers planning to be the mission itself. Jesus did what he was called to do, not just think about it. While I have no problem with planning in general, it is important that preparation doesn’t become the mission itself. It was time for Jesus to move on. The adulation of those healed would be for many of us a compelling motive to stay where we are, but mission has a way of pulling us toward what God has determined is important rather than our idea. The trick is to stay on mission and the direction for that comes though an openness to God in prayer. That’s how Jesus lived; how are we doing?