Bethany Bullet - February 7, 2012

By the time we get to Mark 1:29, the demands on Jesus have already been consuming. He went to preach and the people didn’t want Him to quit. I realize not a problem most preachers have – but Jesus did. No sooner did He say, “Amen” then He had to perform an exorcism. The second He left the synagogue He had to make a sick call. Then, as the sun went down His work load picked up, “People brought to Him ALL the sick and ALL the possessed. The WHOLE TOWN gathered at the door.” Through the night Jesus did His thing. Finally, morning had come, the crowd had gone, and Jesus went – not to bed – but to a “solitary place, where He prayed.”

Now physically, Jesus got up and went to a solitary place, I wonder, if emotionally He was already there when He was still in the house. Jesus is God in human flesh. His emotions, even His actions, are pure and holy. Of course, we are not God and so our emotions, like our actions, at best bear the stains of sin and at worst prove sinful. However, it is no sin to feel alone. Many have felt like they were in a solitary place even when in crowded space.

Perhaps you feel like you are in a solitary place right now? Confining and frightening. Maybe like Jesus, your days are too long and laborious, you are feeling pulled in a hundred directions caring for everyone, and weighed down by all the demands being placed upon you.

Maybe your solitary place is wondering what’s next. You’ve graduated college and got a great degree but can’t find a decent job. For some it is not the beginning of making-a-living crisis but a full blown mid-life crisis. You’re not sure how you got here, if you want to be here, and what to do about it.

For others it is neither beginning nor middle crisis but an ‘end-of’ crisis. It could be an end-of-relationship crisis and you’ve never felt more alone. Maybe it’s an end-of career crisis and you’ve never felt more lost. It could be an end-of hope crisis and you’ve never felt more confused. Quite possibly it is an end-of wealth crisis, just years ago you were feeling fat and sassy or even an end-of health crisis as just months ago had you feeling lean and mean…whichever the case, back then you were able to do what you wanted, when you wanted, and how you wanted – but not now. Now, be it fiscally or physically, you’re confined in this place. This place can be and is a solitary one.

When in a solitary place you can bemoan the location, you can sit and stew, or stand and scream; you can bury in and become bitter or you can lie down in depression; or you can learn from our Lord. You can get on your knees and find this can be a great place to connect to your God. Yes, a solitary place can leave you feeling lonely and isolated, even forsaken and rejected, but your solitary place is a space that even God occupies.

In the solitary place Jesus went to His Father. It might have been helpful and wonderful if we had a little bit more ‘4-1-1’ on their interaction. Then again, maybe not; we are given no information about their communication, we aren’t told what Jesus said, nor what He heard; we are only told what He did when He left His solitary place. He followed His calling, fulfilled His vocation, completed His mission…He obeyed the will of His Father. “He traveled throughout Galilee preaching, healing, and driving out demons.” Can we too find the power of solitary release?

-Pastor Kevin Kritzer