I awoke, in the middle of the night, with the words ‘come aside’ etched quickly into my mind.  This image of ‘come aside’ speaks of recent days.  We all know that if anyone arrives at a hospital or medical facility and they have any Covid19 symptoms they are immediately taken ‘aside’ – away from others – and put in a separate space. This patient will be given unique care.

Jesus ushered someone to ‘come aside’ one day and gave them unique care.  This story is recorded in Mark 7:31-37.  You may want to read it a few times noting what stands out to you about this incredible moment in history.

Then Jesus went out again from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon…They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking, and they asked him to place his hands on him.  After Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue. Then he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”). And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his tongue loosened, and he spoke plainly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But as much as he ordered them not to do this, they proclaimed it all the more. People were completely astounded and said, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

I see this invitation of Jesus to ‘come aside’ as one that is so immensely personal and incredibly beautiful, overwhelming my heart. (I was going to say heart-filling but that is not descriptive enough!)  This man, rejected by society, is given one-on-one attention with the rabbi, the teacher, the miracle worker, the Messiah.  The crowd looks on in wonder as this face-to-face interaction occurs. How do you think the unclean man felt as he was ushered aside by Jesus?  What do you think were his first words, when he was given the freedom, by Jesus, to speak? I would like to have heard the first thing his lips uttered.

Note the crowd’s reaction. They say, “He (Jesus) has done everything well!” 

When is the last time you allowed yourself to be taken aside by Jesus? Often, we are the spectator crowd speaking of Jesus from a distance.  We speak the name of Jesus and talk about Jesus.  We read devotions about Jesus.  I do not minimize these experiences as they are all an important part of our walk and story with our Lord. This morning, I am profoundly aware, (in my tears, if I can be so vulnerable), in the stillness of the day, that Jesus is someone who delights to engage each one of us face-to-face.  Yes, there are moments he speaks to entire families, and moments he speaks to the crowd, but today I believe he invites us, at his invitation to come aside, alone with him, in a different way.  As he ushers us aside, He wants to offer us unique care that will never come from anyone or anything else. He ushers us aside because he has a work to do. He has a personal word to say. He has a touch to offer. He has a truth to secure. May we let him do his work, with the Father. Let us simply be present and listen. Sometimes our words are not required.

Jesus is a gracious host.  It is his invitation extended to come aside.  Today, my prayer is that you would hear Jesus’ invitation to ‘come aside’ and after having done so, you too would proclaim, “He has done everything well!”

The following song was written in the mid 1800’s and is kept in our songbook for a reason.  The use of old English is unique upon our tongues and to be honest I do not have a tune in my mind to sing it (I will have to google it!).  What I do sense in these words is the invitation of Jesus and the transformative, ‘heart-overwhelming’ work completed by Jesus in communion with the Father.  Hear the words to ‘come aside.’

746: Come Ye Yourselves Apart And Rest Awhile

1. Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,
Weary, I know it, of the press and throng;
Wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,
And in My quiet strength again be strong.

2.  Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
For converse which the world has never known,
Alone with Me and with My Father here,
With Me and with My Father not alone.

3. Come, tell Me all that ye have said and done,
Your victories and your failures, hopes and fears;
I know how hardly souls are wooed and won;
My choicest laurels are bedewed with tears.

4. Then fresh from converse with your Lord, return
And work till daylight softens into even;
The brief hours are not lost in which you learn
More of your Master and His rest in Heaven.

Our loving God, we hear your voice that invites us to ‘come aside’. This is a precious invitation; one we do not take for granted.  It was as you stepped aside from heaven’s glory, and came to earth in humility, that a face-to-face relationship with you was made possible.  At your invitation we step into your presence.  We ask you to speak and work your life in us, so that through us your life can flow for the good of others and the glory of your name.  AMEN

With care and in prayer,

Brenda and David