Where are they now?

Many of us have learned a thing or two about sacrifice this past year.  We may not have had to sacrifice our lives, though millions have, but our faith, patience and trust certainly have been challenged and tested.  The third chapter of Mark’s Gospel is full of themes and insights.  It reveals Jesus’ energy and attraction.  People from all corners of the region flocked to the Sea of Galilee to be touch and healed by Jesus.  I sometimes wonder: Whatever happened to all those people?

St. Mark goes out of his way to tell us that there were an awful lot of people who wanted to be with Jesus.  He tells us that "a large number of people" from Galilee came, as did a large number from Judea, as did a large number from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan River, from Tyre and Sidon.  People were traveling from north, south, east and west, streaming to hear Jesus, to be with Jesus to touch Jesus. (Mark 3:7-12)

In our imagination we can see the constant stream of people gathering from all directions to be with Jesus.  It seems that Jesus was a bit intimidated by the huge numbers because He asked His friends to have a boat ready to give Him an escape route so "they would not crush him."   And this wasn’t the only time great crowds came to Jesus.  There were the crowd of “5000 men, not counting women and children” who were fed on the hillside (Mark 6:34-44, Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:1-14), and the crowds lining the road who were singing hosanna and laying palms down in front to Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem (John 12:12-19).  Great popularity and adulation!  But I ask again, whatever happened to all those people?

We know they receded back into the countryside when the religious and political leaders began to demonize Jesus.  They were nowhere to be seen when Jesus went through His Passion and Death.  But when everything settled down again and the disciples continued to talk about Jesus and witness to His resurrection did many of these people return to their initial interest and become followers of Jesus once again?  It wouldn’t be a surprise to me to find out that some (many?) of them did.  From Pentecost on the number of followers of Jesus grew rapidly.  No doubt some of the people who were frightened off came back.

Being a Catholic follower of Jesus can be a difficult thing even today.  Sometimes we’re fervent but there are other times when our hearts can grow distant.  The disapproval of our neighbors or our society, the scandals that happen in our Church, the experiences of personal disappointment, disillusionment, hurt or anger can all cause us to pull back from our faith, to recede back into the countryside.  The beautiful truth about Jesus is that though crowds of people came and went, Jesus stayed faithful to all of them.  Jesus stays faithful to us as well.  Perhaps our prayer today can be to ask the Holy Spirit to grace us with the desire to stay close to Jesus, even in difficult times.