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Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
A leper came to him (and kneeling down) begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean." The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Do you feel this way - harassed and pursued by people who want something of you? What do you think God wants of you?
1 comment:
As a parent, I have felt this way sometimes. The constant demands of the children, the belief that Mom or Dad can always "make it better". It's beautiful, of course, but it can be exhausting. Parents have to decide when their children should solve a problem or work through an issue themselves. If they don't, they won't learn resilience. Jesus must have felt that as well about his disciples. Perhaps that is why he taught in parables and with questions - "who was the injured man's neighbor", "which son did the will of the Father"? He wanted his disciples to struggle with and own the answers so they could grow in faith.
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