Time for Rest – Mark 6:30+

A text – Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

6:30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
6:31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
6:32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
6:33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.
6:34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
6:53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat.
6:54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him,
6:55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
6:56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

A reflection:

Quite a few times in the stories of the Gospels we see the contrast between crowds and alone-ness, between a flurry of activity and stillness, between working and resting. Martha and her sister Mary come to mind, but also Jesus doing miracles of healing and teaching and then going away to a quiet place to pray.

Today’s story is one of those stories. Jesus has sent the disciples, his students, out two-by-two, to heal and proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near, and while they are gone, he has perhaps gotten some good alone time. Now that they have returned with their stories. Jesus can feel their adrenaline from the experience, but he knows they too now need some rest in a deserted place. They have given their bodies and their minds to the work of God’s kingdom, and there is a price to pay in the body for that.

But the crowds pressed them. Wherever they went, crowds followed. And Jesus, loving God with his whole being and loving his neighbor as himself, had compassion on them and healed and taught them. Were his students as strong as he was? Did they heed his advice and get some rest? Did they pull him away so that he could get some rest himself? I like to think that everyone rested. Even God, the Creator and Ruler of the Universe, took the seventh day of creation to rest.

If you do good work, don’t forget to do some good resting as well. God has given you skills and talents to use in making life better for your neighbors. But never forget the command of God and the advice of Jesus: “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Give yourself time to linger in the presence of God and refill your body and soul. That is how God created us.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for making us capable of good work. Remind us that we also need good rest. Help us to see that taking time for rest is part of the way we are fully human. Help us to show our children by example that working and resting are equally important. Take the time.  Amen.