Out of the Limelight

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”
Mark 1:40-44 

I remember reading this passage in Seminary and pondering the question "If I had Jesus' amazing compassion and power to heal, I wouldn't want to keep it a secret. So why did Jesus specifically tell this healed leper not to tell anyone?"  Jesus did this same thing many times throughout His ministry, and even took the Pharisees to task for making a big show of their "piety".

It is in our nature, I believe, to want people to notice when we do something good, and sometimes we get caught up in the attention and seek out the limelight.  

This morning I put on a shirt that I had not been able to wear for two years and in the darkness of this morning, I grabbed it out of the closet and guess what? IT FIT!  I had lost enough weight that this shirt finally fit again.  I wanted to tell everyone.  I wanted to wake my Bride up and tell her, but I sat on the sofa and told Woody (who yawned and went back to sleep).  But I wanted that moment of recognition.  

I remember one of my Theater Coaches tell us, "You are to do the job which you have been given to the best of your ability.  Let others recognize the quality of your work without you drawing attention to it."  That rather hurt at the time, because I wanted people to notice and how would they notice if I didn't tell them?  Then it hit me, if my work is worth noticing, it will be, if not then I still do my best.

Jesus told the leper not to tell anyone because He did not want people to start coming to Him strictly for healing instead of coming to hear the Message He was given to share.  Jesus avoided the limelight so His Message would be the focal point instead of His gifts.  Shouldn't we be the same way?