URC Daily Devotion 22 October 2025

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.  So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them.  And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Reflection

There’s a great novel called ‘Fame is the Spur’ by Howard Spring which tells the story of a fiery and idealistic young politician who, putting personal success over principle, eventually ends up as a part of the establishment he once sought to overturn. The title comes from a line in John Milton’s poem ‘Lycidas’; “Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise…To scorn delights, and live laborious dayes.” Would the prospect and the hope of fame be enough to motive you to make sacrifices and work extra hard? Perhaps the idea of being famous is attractive to you, or perhaps you can’t imagine anything worse and think that trading privacy for a possibly brief moment in the sun would be a poor bargain. (If there are any celebrity Daily Devotions readers out there I’d be very interested in your perspective!)

There’s an argument to be made that Jesus is the most famous person who ever lived. Maybe he wasn’t quite the celebrity of his day but our passage from Matthew tells us that his fame spread throughout the land and great crowds from a wide area followed him and brought people to be healed. How did Jesus feel about his fame spreading? Surely he didn’t seek fame for its own sake, but bigger crowds would mean more people to reach, more people to hear his message about the coming of the Kingdom of God, a greater opportunity to connect with those seeking new life and hope. Yet at times he wants to escape from the crowds who won’t leave him alone and seek to control him. As churches can we learn from this? Are we ready to go to uncomfortable places, to be seen and noticed, not in seeking fame or personal glory but in witnessing to God’s radical and call to justice?

Prayer

God of grace and god of justice, 
we give thanks for people who have heard your call
because you are ready to reach out to us
with your great message of love. 
God of challenge, help us to follow you 
to be ready to make sacrifices
to grow as your disciples. Amen.