SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

[cappie]

 Sunday’s gospel begins with a description of the disciples exhausted and tired. They have returned from their missionary journeys and so many people are coming to see Jesus that “they had no time even to eat.” This is an image of what happens when we are running on low batteries. Without quality time spent with Jesus, his disciples become wearied and hungry.

In this we can surely see a metaphorical description of the spiritual life of every Christian. If we simply base our life in constant activity and don’t make time to be fed and restored by Jesus, we simply collapse and are overcome. Jesus, however, calls those who follow him to take time to be with him in a deserted place. ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’ (Mk 6:31)

How refreshing this response must have been to his weary disciples. Notice Jesus did not respond to the apostles reports about what they were doing by going over a new strategic plan. Notice he did not respond to their reports of what they were teaching by going over a new curriculum. No. He said to his weary apostles,  ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’

Don’t we all long to hear these words spoken to us by our Lord? Don’t we all desire to hear the invitation to come to a place all by ourselves and simply rest a while in the presence of our gracious God?

No doubt our faith requires us to do certain things as well as believe certain things. No doubt we are created to find meaning and value in the work we do, especially when it is done to the greater glory of God and the service and up-building of our neighbours. But our weariness in what we do, and our pervasive busyness are signs that something is not quite right.

To put it in contemporary terms, our pervasive business and weariness are signs of the failed illusion that we are in control of our lives, that we are self-made men and women. To put it in theological terms, they are signs of the illusion that we can make ourselves right with God through our actions and beliefs. Since these are illusions, we need to keep propping them up. We keep adding one more thing to our to-do list, rather than take some time and reflect on why we are doing all these things.

And rather than see weariness as a sign that something is out of whack, we take it as a sign that we are making headway. See how busy and weary I am? Does not that mean that I am valuable? Doesn’t that somehow make me worthy of admiration? Doesn’t that merit at least a little divine favour?

When the apostles gathered around Jesus, they told him all that they were doing and all that they were teaching. They were so busy, so many people were coming and going, they did not even have time to eat. And Jesus said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’

Our Lord knows what we need, even when we do not. When we gather around him, we may want to tell him all the things we have done and all the things we have taught others. We hold up before him our busyness and our weariness as objects worthy of praise and reward. We tell him that we have been so busy that we have not even had time to eat. And we say to ourselves, surely all these things will prove how important and valuable we are.

And our gracious Lord looks past all our illusions, and he does not even mention them, because if he did, he would have to remind us that all that we are and all that we do are gifts from God in the first place. Rather, he looks into our hearts and sees what we truly desire, what we truly need. He makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us beside the still waters and restores our souls. And he says to us,  ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’