During these days of “ordinary time” until the season of Lent the daily readings will feature the Gospel of St. Mark. One of the motifs in the Gospel scholars call “the messianic secret.” St. Mark portrays Jesus as trying to hush up people from talking about his might deeds. For example, in the first chapter Jesus tells the man he just cured: “See that you tell no one anything.” But, of course the “secret” got out. “The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.” Why the secrecy? My suspicion is that Jesus did not want to be known as Miracle Max, that people would only come to him to get healed and not heed the message. How do I think about Jesus?
