Too Busy Not to Pray

James Tissot, Jesus Goes Up Alone onto a Mountain to Pray, 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, the Brooklyn Museum, click the image to link.

Sermon Series “Through the Bible,” № 52.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” –Mark 1:35

As we re-enter the stream of “Through the Bible,” I’ll take just a moment to say something about the relationship between the gospel Mark and the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In an introductory course to the Bible, these three are called the “synoptic” or “same-view” gospels.  For centuries, questions have been asked about their similarities.  A popular theory to describe their composition is the “two-source hypothesis.” It suggests that Mark is the earliest gospel, written just around the time of Jerusalem’s destruction in the year 70 C.E. Matthew and Luke were written a decade or two later, relying on Mark as a foundation, and also relying on a collection of Jesus's sayings, now lost, given the name “Q” (from the German Quelle, meaning “source”). If you’re interested in archaeology, or a fan of Indiana-Jones-style adventures, then it’s fun to think that the Q-source may be preserved in a jar or cave somewhere, just waiting to be discovered.

If you get to know the gospel of Mark, then you can appreciate how Mark’s style of writing is direct and moves quickly from event to event. Presbyterian minister candidates, when preparing for ordination exams, are told they may identity passages from Mark by the frequent occurrence of the conjunction “kai,” which means “and” or “but.” Just listen closely to today’s text, which sometimes sounds like an excited run-on sentence: “That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, andcast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak.”

Bible scholar Marcus Borg once wrote about several aspects of Jesus’s ministry portrayed here. He is a teacher of wisdom, a social prophet, a healer of illness, a movement founder. Put all these aspects together, and you see a picture of a very busy individual with seemingly endless demands upon his time and energy.

But there’s something different about Jesus, when compared to many other popular teachers, hard-working social prophets, in-high-demand healers, and famous movement founders. I imagine that many such people are constantly focused on events and projects. Their calendars and daily planners are so full that anything resembling a contemplative life gets crowded out.

In contrast, I’d like you to notice how Jesus is “too busy not to pray. That sermon title is borrowed from a book written many years ago by Bill Hybels, founding pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago.  I don’t remember much about the book.  But the title is one that naturally comes to mind when reading Mark’s account of Jesus’ ministry.

In our text, Jesus left the synagogue in which he healed the man with the unclean spirit.  He entered the home of Simon and Andrew, and healed Simon’s mother-in-law.  That evening, he cured many from the Capernaum area who were sick or possessed.

After what must have been an evening in which activity went late into the night, the text tells us “in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” Sometimes I have similar experiences.  It can be difficult to calm the mind and quiet the heart when a meeting goes on until 9:00 pm or later.  Perhaps Jesus had a case of insomnia.

Some biblical scholars suggest that Mark’s choice of words recalled an earlier experience.  They’re meant to remind the reader that when Satan tempted Jesus, it was in the wilderness (Mark 1:13).  And they say that it is to a “deserted place” that Jesus returns when he encounters temptation again.

What is the temptation Jesus is facing?  We get clues from the disciples, who hunt for Jesus, and inform him “Everyone is searching for you,” and from the way Jesus responds by turning in another direction.

Yale professor Leonora Tubbs Tisdale once wrote, “The disciples’ desire seems to be that Jesus come out and revel in his increasing popularity by continuing to perform miraculous cures.  But Jesus resists their request, and its implicit temptation to use his God-given powers inappropriately.”[1]

Tisdale goes on to say that the activity of prayer in the Gospel of Mark is not simply a time of comfort and rest.  It is a dangerous activity that takes the one praying into a battle zone where good and evil struggle for the upper hand.  When Jesus prays in the deserted place, it is an act absolutely necessary in order for him to avoid the temptation of sacrificing God’s will to human praise.  When Jesus prays, he finds strength to embrace the vocation to which God calls him. Jesus’ prayer is the prayer of someone who realizes that in the midst of busyness, prayer is the only way to stay focused, in touch with the God’s will, and on the right track toward fulfilling purpose in life.

Keith Harris once served as associate pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, where he shared an old, old story about a little boy who was given a priceless possession by his grandfather: his gold pocket watch.  His grandfather said, “Treasure this, and every time you open it up, let it remind you that I love you.”  One day, while he was working in a local icehouse, the watch fell from the boy’s pocket.  When he realized he had dropped it, he was ankle deep in the ice and sawdust covering the floor.  He searched frantically.  But he couldn’t find the watch anywhere.  Suddenly he realized what to do.  He stopped moving around and became very still.  He listened, and he listened.  Finally he heard the sound of ticking, and it wasn’t long before he found the watch.[2]

A few years ago, Ray W. shared a book called “Margin” (spelled M-A-R-G-I-N). He helps the reader understand what he’s talking about this way: “Marginless is the baby crying and the phone ringing at the same time; margin is grandma taking the baby for the afternoon. “Marginless is being asked to carry a load five pounds heavier than you can lift; margin is a friend to carry half the burden …. Marginless is fatique; margin is energy.” Marginless is fatique, red ink, hurry, anxiety. Margin is energy, black ink, calm, security. Marginless is the disease of the new millennium; margin is its cure.”[3]

The example of Jesus reminds us of the importance of margin.  Contrary to what we might imagine, a good and faithful life is not about filling every minute of every day with projects and events. When, for a time, we pull away from activities, interruptions, and all the busy things that call for our attention, we give ourselves margin to hear the “tick, tick, tick” of God’s spirit, calling us to the path and to the activities for which we were made and put on this earth.  In our time and culture, we are too busy not to pray.

NOTES

[1] Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, “Dangerous Prayer,” Pulpit Resource, 9 February 2003.

[2] Keith C. Harris, “Reflection” for September 10, in Daily Devotions: September 6-10, 2004, published by Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois.

[3] Richard A. Swenson, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives.

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