16th Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 20-21, 2024
Gospel: Mark 6:30-34
RING… RING… RING… CLICK…
“You have reached the Office of Jesus of Nazareth and His apostles. The office is now closed so they can get some rest. But your call is very important to us. Please listen to the following menu options, leave a voice-mail message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. To request a healing, press 1. To inquire about salvation, press 2. To apply for membership in the Kingdom of God, press 3. To hear a pre-recorded inspirational teaching, press 4. Once again, thank you for calling. Shalom.”
I am most certain that the first apostles would have invested in a phone-menu, Voice mailing and texting had it been available to them 2,000 years ago. No doubt. As today’s Gospel shows, even though Jesus knew and advocated the need for rest, He and the apostles didn’t always get it. And neither do we…
Our need for rest and renewal is genuine, not selfish. One of the least-thought-of-commandments is the commandment to REST. The Sabbath REST given us by God, is centered on liturgical worship, but goes well beyond that. God knows how much we need to re-fill and re-new ourselves. It is possible to get so caught up in our own “parade” that that we might lose sight of where it is heading. This can happen even when that “parade” is made up of one good deed after another. When we ourselves are drained – or if we secretly feel cheated out of time for ourselves – it is difficult to give fully and generously to others.
Even though we know this “theory”, we still may find ourselves deluged with obligations to other people; directly or indirectly. Some people are just a fixed part of our lives, and we cannot change that. We must accept them. We can; however, ask for help with them and accept that, too – ordinary things such as meals and household maintenance, extraordinary things such as caring for an aging parent or a child with special needs…
Other obligations, however, may be partially of our own making or undertaking. Even commendable desires to help, encourage, support or inspire other people can run rampant and consume more time than we have to give. Sometimes – as happened in today’s Gospel with Jesus and His apostles –even our deliberate plan for rest and renewal gets “sabotaged”, so to speak, by someone’s genuine need… a friend calls and needs to talk… children suddenly need to be chauffeured to RE or scouts or sports… maybe they need help with their homework, help fixing meals, grandchildren suddenly need an emergency babysitter… these are to name a few. Allowing your plans to be altered in order to meet the needs of others is to follow Jesus’ example.
Jesus is the model of two words: BALANCE & FLEXIBILITY. Sometimes, as in today’s Gospel, He changed His plans and sacrificed His (and the apostles’) need for rest in order to serve the needs of others. It was an ad hoc decision He made upon seeing how great was the need of the people who came to Him. That being said, Jesus must have been looking forward to spending some time with His disciples and listening to their experiences and excitement. I am sure that He expected to spend some time instructing them for their next mission…
Yes, Jesus did not abandon the idea of rest and renewal. On numerous other occasions (like next week’s Gospel in feeding with five loaves and two fish), Jesus made certain that He and the apostles had time alone. And He never neglected to pray to His Father… even in times of relaxation. “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Jesus made this suggestion or offer to His disciples. He realized that they were tired, that they had much to discuss and some time apart from work would be helpful… sound familiar?
Each of us needs to implement physical and especially spiritual R & R. Like diet plans and exercise regiments, no one size fits all! A dry well cannot quench anyone’s thirst; however much we may want it to do so…
In our Eucharist today, we will receive as food and drink, the One who said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. “Let us ask Him to show us what we may need to do in order to receive the rest He promised.
Quality family time takes place around the dinner table. Let’s enjoy some ourselves as we move to gather around the Lord’s Table…
