Our Gospel reading for this Sunday opens with the apostles (i.e. the twelve whom Jesus had recently sent out to spread his healing power in word and action) all hyped up and returning to Jesus to report on all they had taught and done. During their time on mission, Jesus too had been busy around the villages. People were rushing to them from all corners, and the demand was such that we hear “they had no leisure even to eat.” (Mark 6:31)
Jesus told his apostles to “come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile”. Step away from the hustle and bustle, the distractions and demands to find the peace and quiet to be alone with God. As our psalm for this Sunday says, The Lord is my shepherd … he makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He shall refresh my soul. (Psalm 23: 1-3) And so the apostles went away with Jesus to find that quiet place to be refreshed in soul and body – except that it didn’t work out as planned because the crowds not only pursued them but worked out where they were going and dashed ahead to be waiting for Jesus and his companions when they arrived. Jesus did not turn his back on the crowds, even though he must have felt worn out himself; he had compassion on the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he, the Good Shepherd, filled their need.
What do we make of this? Is this saying that quiet time is secondary in importance to the job of ministering to need? I don’t think so. Christ, in his power, was able to respond in such richness, but we cannot work this way on our own strength. We need to have regular refuelling stops. We have to make deliberate plans for this time with God or, before we know it, it will have been eroded away into no time at all. OK, sometimes this doesn’t work. I wonder, do you remember the picture book by Jill Murphy: Five Minutes Peace? Despite her best-laid plans for a soothing bath and cup of tea away from her noisy children, Mrs Large’s time of peace was still invaded by her family; restorative solitude was lost, but love remained. Sometimes, practical demands and responsibilities just cannot be put aside, but if they always trump the times of physical and spiritual rest and regeneration, we will burn out.
This retreat from the world for time to be open to God, to receive refreshment from God before returning to the demands of the world is something modelled by Jesus often through the Gospels. How do we follow that model? Probably it looks different for each of us. Some may spend a time of reflection and prayer at the start of every day. For others, it might be that precious five minutes alone with a cup of tea and just being present to Jesus, as he is to us. Maybe each day you commit to turning off your phone for a while to make silence in which to chat with God. Or perhaps it is time spent walking or sitting in green places, paying attention to what we see and hear, and discovering God in this. What is your regular time or space of solitude with God?
I have a confession to make. One of the ways of making this space and time is to go ‘on retreat’. This involves going away for a few days to a centre where I can join the daily services of prayer and communion, and leave behind all responsibilities other than to rest or read or listen. The important thing is to “come away to the separate place” to rest in God’s presence, and it is so valuable. BUT I caught myself out recently telling a friend that I hadn’t had time to think about booking my next retreat. And so begins the slippery slope! I’m getting that date into the diary this afternoon!
May you have rest and peace with God today and in this week.
Lucy G
Image: Taken near Ely, by Matthew Chadwick.