Lent Reflection: In Search of Jesus

^{Mark 1
35} And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.  
³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him,  
³⁷ and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.”  
³⁸ And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”  
³⁹ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
⁴⁰ And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

One of the curiosities of the gospels is the inclusion by Mark of the so-called "messianic secret."  Throughout Mark, Jesus either conceals his identity, instructs others to conceal his identity, or makes himself scarce. This is unexpected behavior in a Messiah, who has presumably arrived to complete a special, and very public, task.  


Notice that the disciples have to find their lord, and come close to rebuking him.  "Everyone is looking for you." The very next story tells us about a leper who finds Jesus, and is healed. 


One of the mysteries of faith is that we have to seek out God. This has been a stumbling block to atheists and agnostics for centuries.  Why should the creation have to seek out the Creator? 


Mark does not answer that question for us, but instead suggests a truth about faith.  Those who do make the effort to seek out Jesus will be rewarded. In this incident, the leper is physically healed.  In the ancient world, physical healings were demonstrative of a transformation in the soul's condition.  Jesus made him clean, not simply on the outside, but also on the inside. 

Throughout the centuries, Christian mystics have reminded us that the search for God will lead inward. Seeking the Holy One requires a pure heart. Paradoxically, it is the Holy One who heals our hearts, providing the conditions by which it can be pure.