It is so easy to get caught up with the flow of events and activities that everyone around us is focused on and excited about. All the more so if we are central to their excitement.
It is remarkable that Jesus consistently resisted that pull. Very quickly, after healing a few people and exercising authority, Jesus was a man in demand. Crowds followed him. People wanted to be near him.
Jesus, for his part, wanted to offer himself in the most effective way possible. So he consistently stepped away from the crowds and the activity. He wanted to follow his father (not the call of the people’s collective desire). This might be the most counter-instinctual move we can make as people. Yet it is critical to our faithfulness.