Jesus, the famous

A sick man begged Jesus, "If you want to, you can heal me." Jesus felt sorry for him and said, "I do want to. Be healed." And the man was! Jesus asked him not to tell anyone about it, but the man couldn't help it and told everybody. Then Jesus got so famous, He couldn't even go into a town without being mobbed.

Would you like to be a star? Often, people hear about someone who's famous for movies, TV, sports or music and say, "I wish I was like that!" They think it would be fun to be so rich and famous.

Lots of famous people complain about their lives, though. They miss being able to eat at a restaurant or go shopping without mobs of people recognizing them, begging for autographs and even pushing them around.

In this week's Gospel (Mark 1:40-45), we learn that Jesus lived like that. When He performed miracles, He got so famous that everywhere He went, crowds formed. People begged to be healed or just to touch Him or be around Him. He couldn't find time to be alone, to pray or even eat. They wanted Him every minute.

Being famous has its good parts. Famous people usually have lots of money, so they can help poor people and buy expensive things. For Jesus, the good part of getting famous was that people wanted to hear what He had to say about God -- and He wanted to teach them.

But many sports stars, actors and musicians say they'd rather not be famous. It's easier to decide what needy people to give money to if the whole world isn't begging you for it.

For Jesus, it was easier to heal people when the whole town wasn't asking for it! Even Jesus knew that you don't have to be famous to do your part to help people.

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