Fifth Sunday of Epiphany
I have a favorite Internet meme that you may have seen. It’s a single cartoon of a stick figure woman in bright neon colors. Her face has a wild look, and her arms are stretched out as she seems to be headed in five directions at once. The headline yells, “All the things!”
I want to do all the things!
Which things?
All the things!
This might be the best description of my default mode of being.
Unfortunately, it’s not actually a very productive or helpful way of conducting life. And if I’m not careful, I can let distractions keep me from my true purpose.
I believe that we are each called to a God-given purpose. We name that purpose different things: a call, a vocation, a mission, a passion, but we all have a purpose and a focus. And God grants us each gifts to fulfill our given purpose.
This applies to individuals and organizations, like churches. Our congregation has a particular call to serve God’s kin-dom that is defined by our gifts.
However, we can get sidetracked from our purpose. The world is a very distracting place. Sometimes, those distractions are well-intended purposes. We might be so aware of the needs of the world that we struggle to focus on our particular vocation. Or we worry that if we don’t take something on, no one else will.
Apparently, even Jesus is tempted to try to do all the things.
Once Jesus begins his ministry, Mark describes a series of events that rapidly escalate from preaching, recruiting followers, teaching in the synagogue, casting out demons, and healing one woman to facing crowds gathered around begging for his healing. All of this happens in about 15 lines of Scripture. As Jesus collects disciples, he is presented with opportunities to heal and cast out demons, so he does. After casting out a demon in the synagogue and healing Simon’s mother-in-law, his new followers get excited about the prospects of their new teacher.
Marks tells us that, ” That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons.” The new disciples went out to find people and spread the news of this new healer. The disciples seek out more people for Jesus to heal, and soon, he finds himself very busy doing this work as the whole town gathers around him.
But Jesus breaks away from the crowds to seek out solitude and pray. Simon and his companions must hunt to find him. When they do find Jesus, they try to drag him back to the crowds, back to “everyone” who wants to find him.
However, in his time of prayer, Jesus has found some clarity in his mission and vision. He knows his goal, and though he can heal people, he has quickly realized that this will sidetrack him from his primary mission – to preach the good news of God.
Jesus reminds us that we can’t really be all things to all people. Even for Jesus, there are limits to his ability to serve. While he has many gifts, if he allows himself to be distracted, he can’t fulfill the mission he was called to live out.
On the one side, I’m relieved that even Jesus can get distracted. But sometimes, it feels like we mere mortals have a special talent for getting distracted.
And it’s not always because we’re off doing something useless. Our distractions can be very worthy or necessary. God knows, there’s always another load of laundry to be done.
When I worked in technology, I eventually found myself planning an annual strategy for my department. My initial presentation to the CIO left him shaking his head. “Three goals, Mercedes. You get just three goals to focus on.”
“But we could be doing so much more...” I argued.
“And, you can only accomplish a few things well.”
So much for all the things.
Even with a laser-like focus on our goals, we will have to navigate distractions. Life is life. It comes with good times and bad
Life isn’t that different from Jesus’s time. Jesus was performing healing, and we often find ourselves negotiating the realities of sick kids, sick family members, or even our own health issues. Don’t get me started about modern demons – politics, the internet, social media, materialism, and all the other temptations.
Thankfully, Jesus also models how we might respond to the overwhelm that can settle on us when it’s all thrown our way. Jesus makes a point to step away from the chaos to reconnect with God in prayer. Through his time in solitude with God, Jesus filters out the distractions and refocuses on his primary mission. Despite the pulls and distractions, Jesus tells the disciples, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do.” We are also invited to regular prayer to reconnect with God. And when we set aside time to listen to God, we will also find the benefits of setting aside this quiet time to discern our direction. Regular prayer can help us stay focused on our vocation, helping us distinguish between distractions and true goals. Despite the desire to do all the things, we can only accomplish a few things well. Though there may be disappointment or sadness in making choices, we will ultimately find a kind of peace that descends when we surrender to our God-given purpose. Some decisions become easier. The puzzle pieces begin to fall into place. We start to see the big picture as we move towards a particular goal.
I hope you know that God doesn’t expect us to do all the things. Though sometimes life will throw a lot at us, we are invited to find time with God each day to reconnect without our purpose and gifts. And when we embrace and focus on our God-given purpose, we will find that our very lives will proclaim the good news of God in the world.
