Away From the Crowd 

   St. Mark records the miraculously healing of a man’s deafness and speech impediment (Mark 7: 31 – 37).  Before performing the miracle, Jesus took the man off by himself away from the crowd.  The obvious lesson of this story is the miraculous cure performed by Jesus.  But why did He take the man away from the crowd before doing so?

   It wasn’t necessary for Jesus to take the man away from the crowd to perform the miracle.  He performed many miracles among crowds throughout His ministry.  So why did He choose to go away from the people to perform this one?  It certainly didn’t keep it secret since Mark’s account clearly indicates that others knew about it and spread the word.  I think there is a deeper lesson to be learned.

   The world is a noisy and chaotic place.  We can barely hear ourselves think at times, nevertheless hear the small still voice of the Lord.  He still wishes to speak to us, to give us His blessings and bring us closer to Him.  Perhaps in taking the man away from the crowd to perform  the miracle Jesus is also saying that we too need to get away from time to time.  To spend alone time with Him and listen to what He is telling us today.

   Scripture speaks to us in many ways.  It tells us what happened and maybe gives us some insight into what it meant to the people of Jesus’ time.  But the bible is not simply a history book.  The God who has spoken through scripture still speaks to us today.  There are still many lessons to be learned.  It’s up to us to listen to what He has to say.  Sometimes we need to go away from the crowds to hear Him. 

The world is noisy and chaotic.

It always has been and probably will always be.

In the quiet, away from the crowd I find You.

In the silence, you speak to me of Your will. 

Amen