There are a number of fascinating themes that weave subtly through the Gospel of Mark, and one of them is a continued emphasis on keeping things quiet. Particularly in the first half of the Gospel, Jesus is repeatedly trying to keep his identity and his wonder-working on the down-low. Why would he do this? Didn’t he come to proclaim the kingdom of God, to save the world, to get as much as possible accomplished for eternity?
Perhaps one answer to this is that Jesus was trying to manage expectations. He knew that his words and actions would draw attention, and that this attention would lead some to try to use Jesus for their own purposes. The Jews of that day, by and large, wanted a Messiah who would fix their immediate problems: overthrow Rome, bring economic prosperity, subject the pagan Gentiles under God’s authority, etc. Jesus, however, knew that there was something far greater to be addressed, namely, opening up a path for all people, both Jew and Gentile, to be reconciled to God in order to experience his goodness and kindness and peace and forgiveness like never before.
Sometimes it may feel that Jesus is quiet in our own lives. We feel the pressure of immediate problems that we don’t feel like he is addressing in the way or timing we want him to. May we remember that Jesus did not come to merely be a self-help therapist or an advice columnist; instead, he came to be a savior and a shepherd. In this life he does not promise that he will remove all struggles or solve all problems; rather he desires that we to turn to him in the midst of these things, that we learn to exercise quiet trust. One day he will return in a loud and unmistakable way, but for now he often works in seemingly small and quiet ways in the nooks and crannies of our everyday lives, a quiet Savior inviting us into a quiet posture of trust in the midst of the ups and downs of life.