These last few weeks seems like the church is singing the message of a Willie Nelson ballad, On the Road Again. “I just can’t wait to get on the road again. Goin’ places that I’ve never been; seein’ things that I may never see again. The life I love is makin’ music with my friends. Just can’t wait to get on the road again.”
This weekend the Evangelist Mark gives us an example of the kind of tension that exists in our own lives and in the life of every committed Christian. On the one hand, we feel drawn away to a quiet place. At the same time, we feel the almost constant demands on our commitment “to respond to the needs of God’s people.” We want to respond generously where there is a real need. But, how do we know what is a ‘real need’ and what is just our own desire be needed, to “play savior”? There are times when, no matter how weary we feel, we know we should say ‘Yes’. Other times, in spite of any criticism it may generate, we feel we are inclined to say ‘No’. At times in the life of Jesus, we see him leaving the people, in spite of their demands, and going away to pray. This kind of rest is not laziness or irresponsibility. This is the Sabbath rest Fr. John recommends: mercy and compassion over sacrifice.
Last weekend the apostles were sent out two-by-two. Today, they are re-gathering two-by-two. They are exhilarated, but exhausted. They are on their own for the first time without Jesus. They had preached, cast out demons, anointed the sick, and called people to respond to Jesus’ message. Now Jesus invites them (and us) to “come away to a deserted place, all by yourselves and rest a while.” Notice there are four parts to Jesus’ invitation: “Come away – to a deserted place – all by yourself – and rest a while.” Each phrase means something on its own, but no single phrase stands alone. We have to accept the whole package.
We must be on guard that we don’t wear busy-ness as if it were a badge of honor. Wearing a button that goes “blink, blink” and proclaims an implicit message: “I’m worthwhile because I’m so busy and I’m always tired” equals “I’m important”. But busy-ness is not a badge of honor! On the contrary, it is the mark of a life way out of balance. It is NOT Benedictine!
Jesus said: “Come away.” He did not say “Go away.” His is an invitation to a communal experience. It’s “coming away” to be with Jesus. What a beautiful invitation! If we don’t rest, we won’t be able to take care of the self. Without self-care we will be of no use to anyone, especially God.
As Jesus listened to each of the two-by-two teams give their reports, he was moved by their tender stories of healing children, inspiring people, and boldly witnessing to Jesus’ words. At the same time, He must have seen fatigue in their faces and so, in a gracious moment of concern, Jesus said to them: “Come away for a while and rest.” Jesus made no suggestion that their ministry of witness and compassion was over, but he offered them a respite. They got into a boat and headed off for the first Christian retreat.
And you know what greeted them! Over 5,000 figured out where the boat was going and got there ahead of them. Imagine how the disciples must have felt! They had had visions of having a little quiet time with Jesus. But like Jesus, the disciples’ hearts were moved to pity. They set personal wishes aside in deference to the needs of others as Benedict says in RB 72, “No one is to pursue what she judges better for herself, but instead, what she judges better for someone else.”
We know for sure, that there is weariness in ministry. And we know as well that weariness is no excuse to quit and let others pick up the slack. Somehow, we must discover Jesus’ compassion for the crowd within our own heart. It’s just not as easy as it sounds.
Several years ago a health study determined there are three main reasons people can’t cope with the demands in their lives: 1. they live in the past, 2. they have a low self-esteem and 3. they can’t laugh at themselves. The study indicated that we need approximately 12 laughs a day to stay healthy! Yes, life throws us curve balls just when we least expect it (like being paged just when we finally got a chance to zone out for a few minutes). To stay sane, we need to sit back and enjoy a good laugh. So, here’s your laugh-vacation for today. Not long ago a lady I know sent flowers to her friend who had opened a new restaurant. When she arrived at the grand opening, she looked for the flowers. Imagine her consternation when she found them, and saw that, in her haste in placing the order, she had sent a white wreath with a card that said, “May you rest in peace.” She panicked, of course, and called the florist who said, “Honey, I’m not worried about you because as we speak, there’s a lady being buried across town who got a dozen roses with a note that read, ‘Good luck in your new location!”
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
