SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YR B
Jer 23:1-6; Ps 23
Eph 2:13-18; Mk 6:30-34
COME AWAY TO A DESERTED PLACE AND REST (Mk 6:31)
After Jesus sent his disciples on mission, they returned with stories of their experiences. As they told their stories, obviously with joy and excitement, Jesus said to them, “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mk 6:31).
It is interesting that the Greek word translated “desert” is “eremos”, the same word used in reference to the place of Jesus’ temptation and where he would rise early and go to pray (Mk 1:12; 1:35). This invitation therefore was an invitation to rest in the Lord; a kind of retreat. Jesus invited his disciples to take time off and rest with God and to renew their strength.
Many people today seem so busy. They are so busy; they do not even have time to rest or to eat. People fill up their calendar so much that a mere reading of it would leave one breathless. This is because many people equate being busy with hard work. I know people (priests and lay) get about so busy without rest that they begin to doze off at the least “idle” time they get. If you fall victim to this, it means your life is filled with too much movement.
This is also due to some wrong statements around which people organise their lives. One of such statement is, “there is more sleep after death”. Those who believe this go on and on claiming that you can do nothing again when you die so they have to keep on going. But this is dangerous; you can never do all you can and desire before you die. Some who are more pious claim that “Jesus never had siesta (rest)”. Well, I think that today’s gospel is a responds. Jesus calls us to rest and retreat in the Lord.
This invitation to retreat is important for all of us. The primary purpose of this invitation is to be with the Lord. It was to make them recognise that it was God who was behind the spectacles of their mission. Retreat therefore is to help us to acknowledge that our lives and its achievements are encircled by the providence of God.
Retreat is also important for us not to forget the reason why we do what we do. Some priests have become so busy about the church and the work of God that they forget God himself. Retreat helps you to reconnect with God and to renew your strength. Many parents also get so busy providing for their families that they forget the children and their training. Retreat helps us to refocus.
Retreat is also important for solitude. Especially today, we are swallowed up by the demands on us so much so that we have little time to think about ourselves. This can be emotionally draining. We are able to get “alone time” for ourselves. This helps us to search our deeper selves with the grace of God in order to understand ourselves better. Many of us hide our fears, bitterness and pain in our busyness. Retreats are moments to confront ourselves, to interrogate our motives and come out stronger.
This invitation of Jesus is a practical one. When you work, rest. Remember that even God himself rested “on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken” (Gen. 2:2). In fact, God made rest holy. But rest is only for those who work. You cannot say you are resting when you have not worked. When you find yourself resting without work, know that you are lazy.
When we rest or take a retreat, we do not only rebuild our spiritual lives, we build also our relationships. In that moment of retreat and solitude we find better ways to enjoy the company of friends and especially family. Many great men lose their marriages and the peaceful home because they did not take time to rest and enjoy the company of friends and family.
A retreat or rest helps us to appreciate and be grateful for the things we took for granted. It slows us down to hear the songs of the birds, to feel the smell of the air and when it rains, smell of the earth. It helps us to notice our children with gratitude and appreciate the presence of others in our lives.
This invitation of Jesus is not only good for our spiritual life but also for our health. Don’t kill yourself with activities, it is not a gift of martyrdom. Get rest. Take a retreat.
God bless you.
By Rev. Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
