Passing through Galilee

From Mark chapter 9:

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

I've been struck lately by the insertion of phrases in the daily readings that indicate that Jesus does not want himself to be known. In the past few weeks I've been noticing how Jesus admonishes the recipients of his healing not to tell anybody about them. The miraculously healed are to say nothing. Those who have had demons cast out from them are not to tell anybody who did it. Jesus speaks in the Temple and causes great discussion among the crowds about who he really may be, but disappears.

In our daily lives we seem to be inundated with things that teach us that life doesn't exist apart from what's exposed, made famous or public, photographed or documented. Internal life has a way of disappearing from existence because it is not acclaimed in public, in the eyes of others. We count achievement as that which we can see, or which others can recognize - what we can put on a resume.

But Jesus doesn't fall for any of this. He's here to do a job, and it doesn't have anything to do with personal recognition. It has to do with the One whom he serves, doing His will. We were told a few days ago in a selection from John that this is how we know Jesus is true, because the One whom he serves is true.

I wonder how true each of us can be to the One when we serve by healing our own wounds internally, rising above a bad situation to make the best choice, and making hard decisions nobody else necessarily knows about. We won't get applause for it or recognition: but if it's in God's eyes, is this not what we must also recognize? It is a part of the treasures laid up that moths can't eat, that rust can't get to. I struggle with this daily. It is a big part of the contradiction I feel trying to live a life I believe God wants me to.