"In the earlier part of the morning, while it was still quite dark, Jesus rose up and went into a deserted place and praying there. Simon and those with him sought him out, and when they had found him, they said to him: every one is searching for you. But he said to them: let us go into the neighboring village towns that there also I may make my proclamation; for it is for this that I have come. And he went into the entire region of Galilee making his proclamation in their synagogues and casting out unclean spirits."
--Mark 1: 35-39 (translation by P.H. Epps)
This past Sunday we heard the story of Jesus healing Simon Peter's mother-in-law, and afterwards retreating to a deserted place so that he can go and pray alone. This is an early moment in Jesus' earthly ministry, and, as is Mark's custom, the gospeler gives little time for Jesus to relax. The people have heard of Jesus, and they are getting excited. That want to see him. They want to hear him. They want to be healed by him. So it is no real surprise that Simon Peter, James, and John go looking for Jesus. The people are calling for him, and these three most trusted of disciples are going to find him and bring him to the people.
The line that seemed to leap off the page when I read this gospel in church yesterday was the line from the disciples that Preston Epps translates as "every one is searching for you." (Pardon me for using a non-sanctioned translation, but Preston Epps' is my favorite version of the First Gospel!) Standing in our sanctuary for our evening Eucharist last night I thought that that line certainly applied to us. It applies to any of us who get up on a Sunday morning and head to our favorite place of worship. We are there because we are searching for Jesus. Why else would we be there? We are there to sing songs about him, to pray to him, and to experience him in very real and tangible ways. We are searching for him, and, make no mistake, we DO find him there! We find him in the real materials of wine and bread that have been made holy and that connect us to him and to one another. We find him in the water that resides in that font at the front of the church, which reminds us of the baptism that grafted us onto Christ's Body once and forever. Oh yes, we are in church because, like those early followers who heard the news of Jesus as it quickly spread through Galilee, we are searching for Jesus. And regardless of our traditions, I'd bet that each one of us--Episcopalian, Methodist, Orthodox, Roman, Baptist, or otherwise--would proudly proclaim that we find him in our worship space of choice.
But the truth is that we are not the only ones searching for Jesus. The truth is that the world is searching for Jesus. It doesn't matter if the world ever even utters the name of Jesus; even those who do not believe in him are searching for him. What do I mean by this? The world is searching for hope. It's searching for reconciliation. A hungry world is crying for food. A naked world is crying for clothing. A world that is lost is crying for purpose and home. So when I read that line "every one is searching for you," I can't help but think that that line does not just apply to those crowds in 1st century Palestine, nor does it just apply to those of us who proudly and boldly proclaim Jesus as Lord. It applies to the entire world. Every one is searching for him.
Have you ever heard the saying, "You may be the only Bible anyone ever reads?" Well, brothers and sisters, you may be the only Jesus that anyone ever meets. Too many people have met Jesus and have been turned away. They have been turned away by homophobia, by greed, by pride, by sexism, by racism, and by a host of other sins all masked as righteousness and all in the name of Jesus. But you have the opportunity each day to be the face of Jesus to someone. You have the opportunity to feed someone who is hungry. You have the opportunity to clothe someone who is naked, to proclaim Good News in word and action, to seek and serve Christ in all persons. You may be the only Jesus Christ that anyone ever meets. You are, after all, the Body of Christ, and you are called to not only be the Body when we gather together in our favorite worship spaces, but most especially you are called to be the Body outside of those walls. It is an awesome (and, at times, overwhelming) responsibility. But this Christian thing is not supposed to be easy. It's not about taking the comfortable, well-worn path. It is about blazing a new trail of love like this world has never seen. For that is what our Lord did and what he calls us as his Body to do now.
Every one is searching for Jesus. How will you show him to the world? Because you may be the only Jesus anyone ever meets.