Noise and Self

Mk 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

:36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.

:37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.

:38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
:39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

:40 Now a leper came to Him imploring Him, keeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

:41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “ I am willing; be cleansed.”

:42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

:43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,

:44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

:45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

Ps 131:2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Silence is hard to find. There is noise everywhere. The kind of noise that is dangerous to our spiritual well-being is the noise we invite into our lives.

Sometimes we use noise to shut out loneliness. Sometimes to shut out our thoughts. Other voices and opinions stop us from having to think for ourselves. Some use it to shut out the voice of God. Even if we are talking about God, it keeps us from hearing what God has to say.

Jesus always sought out places of solitude where He could have a conversation with God.

Matt 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Christmas has become so commercial that it saddens me. There are so many things that have no connection to Jesus.

How can we really keep Christ in Christmas? At the rate things are going He won’t be soon.

Let’s not spend as much time on trivial things that we miss showing the love of Christ to others. Traditions, are a good part of Christmas we should strive to keep. That’s not what I am talking about. Let’s take ourselves and our selfishness out of Christmas and celebrate Christ.

Phil 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

:6 who, being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

:7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

We all have self. It’s not like it just comes to us. We are born with it. If we begin to put self away, then Christmas will become real to us.