Hunted

"And Simon and his companions hunted for him." ~ Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1

Hunted is an odd word choice and is later revised to a more acceptable “searching” in the next line. Hunted gives the sense of urgency on the one hand—hunted high and low for him—and of being stalked like a prey on the other hand. Jesus had slipped away in the dark to a deserted place to pray in the morning after a busy previous day of healing. I can understand why people might have wanted to hunt him down. If he cured many in one day, his disciples would be concerned if he suddenly disappeared.

I sometimes think I hunt for the cure for my diseases and come up empty-handed. If I knew that someone could cure me, I would certainly look high and low to find that person. Job cries out in the first reading that he is allotted months of emptiness and nights of misery. When we are in pain in any way, we may seek desperately for God or for Christ. The wonderful thing is that in this reading, we find Christ praying and ready to get back to the task at hand of healing.

Peace,

Suzanne