Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, January 18, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This image is a little scary. I think of the horrible news stories about fans crushed to death at concerts or shoppers crushed to death at Black Friday sales. I remember my experience trying to get out of Trafalgar Square in London in the minutes after the new year of 1995, along with thousands of others all rushing to get to the tube station before the trains stopped running.
Massive crowds are dangerous things, especially when whipped into a frenzy. Jesus had been healing people, and so many more were now “pressing upon him” to have their own infirmities removed. Jesus had thought ahead, thankfully, so that his disciples had a boat ready for him to keep him from getting crushed. But what about the crowds themselves? I can’t imagine the precariousness of so many desperate people all trying to reach Jesus at once. Did people die for their efforts to be cured?
The world still cries out for healing. Thousands upon thousands of people struggle in body, mind, and/or spirit, desperate for healing and wholeness. Jesus is not off in some boat watching from a distance, but in the midst of them, wherever they are, experiencing their pain. Some will receive healing in this life; others will not. But none are left to be crushed by the crowds of hurting souls around them. Jesus creates a space and shares it with them.
When have I felt crushed by the challenges in my life? Where and how did I feel the presence of Jesus with me? Or did I?