Where do you find rest? Is there a place you go to get away from it all? When have you found opportunities to refresh, renew, and rejuvenate? What times have you step away from the stresses and demands of life? Those moments and places are precious, and the people we share those moments with are dear.
The disciples in today’s gospel reading have just returned from going out in pairs, teaching and casting out demons. They gather and tell Jesus about “all that they had done and taught.” The text says, ”many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat.” What an effective way to say that life and its demands were overwhelming them. Jesus invites them to “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
I’ve been thinking about the way Jesus invites the disciples to step away from the demands of their life and rest a while. Preachers and other faith leaders (myself included) seem to be always inviting (or insisting that) following Jesus means getting out there and doing; loving neighbors, forgiving people, caring for sick and struggling folks, working for justice, and building a community where all are welcome. This kind of compassion for the world around us is exactly what Jesus is all about – and it truly drains our emotional, mental, and physical resources. This story makes clear that Jesus prioritizes both the needs of the crowds, as well as the needs of the disciples.
Where are you able to get away to a deserted place and rest a while? How do you step back from the demands of loving your neighbor and tend yourself? When do you make time to stop and find peace and quiet to refill your soul, rest your mind and care for yourself? I like to go out walking my dogs or take a morning bike ride. In the middle of a busy (or challenging) day, taking a few deep breaths and closing my eyes for a moment helps calm and energize me more than you might expect. Spending an hour curled up with a book or magazine just for fun feels like a treat after a long day. Cooking with family, visiting people, doing something artistic, spending time in nature, listening to loud music, calling a friend, or simply spending time all alone can be healing when we are tired from the demands of life and caring for each other.
Jesus calls us to love our neighbor and tend the needs around us, and also to love ourselves and tend the needs within us. May you hear Jesus’ invitation to the disciples as an invitation to you as well, to come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while. May time away, long or short, bring you healing and renewal.
Peace, my friends,