Two weeks ago, I posed to you the question Jesus asked his first disciples, “what do you seek?” Afterwards, someone said to me that at her age, the question is no longer applicable because she is now “good for nothing”. I struggled to find the right response (and failed), but the remark resonated with me. We all, at times, feel frustrated with seemingly having grown into everything we were meant to be, or becoming less than who we once were. This has nothing to do with aging, as Isaiah wrote, “even youths grow tired and weary, stumble and fall”. Depression and illness, job loss, grief, winter blues… Lots of situations do make us feel like we are “good for nothing.” 

And still, we all long for being “good for something”. Why did Peter’s mother-in-law, whom Jesus healed in today’s reading, begin to serve the men as soon as the fever left her? This used to irritate me greatly when I was younger – come on, they wouldn’t even let her rest a bit after her illness, as though she was healed just so that they got a cook? Eventually, however, I understood that returning to work completed her healing, rather than resulted from it. This has to do with the hierarchy of human needs as psychologists describe it. As soon as we are safe, fed, sheltered, and well, we seek belonging and respect. But once we gain these, we long for a greater fulfillment yet – for this very feeling of being useful and creative.  

That’s called self-actualization, which everyone desires. But, many look for it in wealth, power, fame, social media following, dinner invitations, medals and distinctions, beauty and thinness, and still feel hollow. The Good News is that faith, as the point of intersection of God’s will and ours, gives us a more specific pathway to that upper tier in the pyramid of needs. Not that “as Christians, we must please God”, but “as humans, we desire to realize our full potential by gradually growing into God’s likeness”. Religion gives us the paradigm of ethics, self-worth based in the image of God, atonement and forgiveness epitomized in Jesus, and other parameters without which we don’t have a clear basis to judge whether “we have arrived,” resulting in discontent. And of course, faith lets us be ok with the paradox of arriving “now and not yet”. The fruits of the Spirit echo the features that scientists have noted in self-actualized people. Can you recall what the fruit/gifts of the Spirit are (hint: Galatians 5: 22-23) and spot the parallels with below?

But, it only by faith that we may fully explain why the fruit is really both for ourselves and others. That’s why even our hobbies acquire a fuller meaning when we bring joy to others with performances, art, or baked goods, even though we enjoy and would do these things anyway. So to me, our scriptures reveal the ancient’s attempt, with God’s inspiration, to find the origins and meaning of our desire to be “good for something”. They capture self-actualization as healing, resurrection and ascension; as that movement upwards and outwards: from the sick beds, from the dead, to the sky; from the ark and desert, Egypt and lions’ den, womb, tomb, and fish belly – all these tight, dark places, where we lack the space to realize our potential. Is that what you seek – to be free to move, able to see the light, become born again? Jung, Maslow, and the sacred stories concur.

Isaiah captures this idea in the enduring image of a soaring eagle. Same idea of rising above the mundane and difficult, but also the spaciousness and breadth of perspective, sharpness of vision, angling your wings (i.e. adjusting expectations) to let the wind do the work for you. Just imagining it right now makes me take a deep breath. In Middle Eastern mythology, eagles represented the connection between heaven and earth; likewise, for Christians, self-actualization is growing into Christ’s likeness. Isaiah says that “those who wait on/hope for the Lord” achieve this. But what does it mean to wait on the Lord when you’re barely staying afloat the sea of laundry and dishes, wet mittens and chauffeuring the kids, homework and bills? And what does it look like when it’s time to let go of all this? It is only for you to discern; but, you will never cease to be “good for something.” 

I know a 90+ year-old artist who teaches and makes art in his retirement home. I know that the person I quoted at the beginning has the real knack of how to brighten anyone’s day. I know how much I was inspired recently by a man, utterly weakened by his chemo, yet finding the strength to convey to me a deeply moving, prayerful witness of God’s faithfulness. At the very end of his life, he is still more than “good for something”. What stayed with me from our retreat with Archbishop Linda is her certainty that there is not only one direction in life that God wills for us to take in order to fulfill our purpose. I would add that there is not only one way for our hearts to “soar” at any moment. May we continue to inspire each other to pursue our shared desire to be “good for something”, wherever we are. Amen.

For reflection on the Gospel of Mark as a whole

1. What was it about Jesus’ teachings that captivated his audiences at synagogues and village squares: the tone of his voice, public speaking skills, or the ability to entertain with his jokes, prables, and analogies? How often do we allow ourselves to be engaged by the “alternative facts” that are skilfully delivered, yet miss out on the truth when it is not packaged as attractively?

2. Isaiah 40 opens with God calling on the prophet to comfort his people. How do you bring peace to others? To whom do you turn for comfort — maybe, it is someone who embodies peace and grace without even being overtly the person of faith? What is it about them that seems to anchor you in difficult situations? Are there places where you go to regain the sense of composure and God’s presence, like Jesus went into a deserted place? 

3. Jesus did not try to prevent scary situations and keep unclean people out, he dealt with the problem as they arose, calmly and simply, and without making a big display of power; nor did he boast of his previous miracles in order to gain further influence. Who are your role models in the workplace or family who seem to solve problems out of a similar stance of humility, yet seem to possess an aura of authority?