I watched as Coldplay grabbed a few acoustic instruments and walked off the stage of The Palace in Detroit to a small platform in the back of the room. There we watched as they played a song while a young man behind them did everything he could to touch Chris Martin. It was so noticeable that Chris made a joke into the microphone, but it didn’t seem to stop the man from continuing.
Welcome to Jesus’ life. When you are gifted with the ability to heal people of all diseases and afflictions with a touch, people will come from far and wide seeking your gift. Crowds gathered everywhere he went, getting so close to him that it was impossible to tell who was touching him at any given moment. They followed him everywhere he went.
This kind of ministry takes lots of time and effort. I’ve seen it with modern healers who sit and pray for every person that attended their meeting. Francis MacNutt reports that English and French monarchs prayed for entire crowds during their reign which was surely exhausting: “Each healing service took the better part of two or three entire days. King Louis XIV of France prayed for 3,000 people on Pentecost Sunday 1698. In England Charles II prayed for 23,000 people in a four year span and for some 100,000 in his 25 year reign.”
It’s for reasons like this that Jesus was completely passed out while in a small boat in the middle of a storm that was so intense it made his fishermen-disciples afraid that they were going to die. All of the water splashing on his face, the wind blowing in his hair, and the noise crashing against the boat should have woken him up, but it did not. He was out.
How hard do we work to serve the people around us? Jesus needed more breaks than he was afforded, but every time he could have taken one, his compassion for the needy won him over. Rest is important, but may we take note.
*This devotional was created out of the themes of Matthew 8:18-27 found in today’s reading at CommonPrayer.net. Below are the various AI-created pictures I typed into existence via Mid Journey to mock up artwork for today’s post.
Jamin Bradley 