Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Mark 1:38-39 (NIV)
Other than a four year sojourn to the outskirts of Chicago for college, I have lived my entire life in Iowa. As I network for work with business people on both coasts, I find that most people a) don’t know exactly where Iowa is on the map and b) have never been here. Iowa is known as “flyover” country. Business, politics, and culture in America are driven primarily by people on the either coast. Here in Iowa It’s mostly rural farmland dotted with small towns. We’re an easy target for comedians. The only reason anyone pays attention to Iowa is our first in the nation caucuses every four years that kick of the presidential race, and every four years the important and elite talking heads on the coasts gripe in the media about us having that little sliver of the political pie.
In the 40-plus years that I’ve been studying this Great Story from Genesis to Revelation, one of the things that I find lost on most people is the giant cultural divide between the worldly powers of Jesus’ day and where Jesus chose to begin His earthly ministry. For those living in Judea, the center of everything elite and important was in Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was New York, L.A., and Washington D.C. rolled into one. Just as people flock to those centers of business, politics, and entertainment to “make it” in the world today, so would those who wanted to “make it” in Jesus day go directly to Jerusalem. Every one who was anyone of power and prestige was in the big city.
The north shore of Galilee, on the other hand, was the “flyover” country in its day. That’s where Jesus chose to begin his ministry. When I visited the area I was amazed how remote it still feels today. To get to some of the little villages where Jesus taught we had to navigate back-country roads to places it’s obvious few people ever visit. It’s remote, isolated, and about as far away from “worldly power” as one could get.
Today our chapter-a-day journey begins a trek through the gospel of Mark, written by a man named John Mark, who has his own interesting story. Mark was a young man when his mother, Mary, became a follower of Jesus. He was among the throng of followers who are often forgotten in the shadows behind The Twelve who got most of the attention. Mark’s mother was among the women with means who financially supported Jesus’ ministry and in the events after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus’ disciples and followers met at and lived in Mary’s home. Mark is in the background of most of the events of those early years of the Jesus’ Movement. He was with Paul on the first missionary journey, spent much of his adult life living with and assisting Peter. At the end of Paul’s life, Mark is there by his side.
I felt a spiritual connection between person and place this morning as I meditated on the first chapter of Mark’s biography of Jesus. Jesus chose to center His ministry in a rural area dotted with small villages of simple people just trying to catch fish, grow crops, and survive. Jesus’ followers were, for the most part, blue-collar workers with little education and zero prominence in the world. People like Mark, who was just a kid whose mom decided to follow Jesus, and so he lived his life in the background of events that would change the world. He was a stage-hand in the drama of the Jesus Movement – listening, learning, and then sharing Jesus’ teaching. Just one of those names in the program to which no one really pays attention.
And, I think this is the point. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said that His ways are not our ways. He doesn’t do things the way Wall Street, Washington, Hollywood, or Silicon Valley believe that things should be done. God sent His Son to flyover country to simple people living in rural areas who are just trying to make a living and figure out life.
I find something endearing and profoundly significant in this, especially in a culture where popularity, fame, and influence have become the currency of power in an online world that has become an endless cacophony of voices. Jesus’ message has never broadly resonated in the power centers of this world where the kingdoms of politics, education, commerce, and even religion hold sway. I am reminded that at the very end of the Story in Revelation, those kingdoms will still be lined up against God.
And so, in the quiet this morning, I sit in flyover country. Few people can find me on a map, and most people will avoid visiting. The further I get in my life journey the more I appreciate it. Jesus taught that I should seek first the Kingdom of God. Along life’s road I discovered that the closer and more enticed I become with the Kingdoms of this world, the harder it becomes find the eternal treasures that Jesus said were most important. I think Mark understood this. What a great role model; Living life in the background listening, learning, and sharing Jesus’ teaching among simple people who are just trying make a living and figure out life.
If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.
