Proper 11, Yr B (2024) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 11, Yr B (2024 STA) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
I don’t have anything earth-shattering to share with you this morning,
but I do have an invitation for you:
“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
If a “deserted” place doesn’t sound like rest to you, that’s OK…
the “deserted place” is simply a placeholder for a place of refreshment.
More on that later.
The apostles, the “sent” ones,
gathered around Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
If you remember, Jesus sent them out two by two, with nothing but a tunic and sandals
to teach and heal as many interested folks as they came across.
They had been busy…so busy they didn’t even have time to eat!
So, when they reported all they had done to Jesus,
he invited them to come away and rest.
As they climbed into the boat to go on their mini-vacation,
the crowds spotted them
and got to their destination before they arrived.
The crowds were so hungry and thirsty for the healing and new life they offered,
that they figured out how to get there fast!
I want to hit the “pause” button on the gospel story
and take a look at our lives for a moment.
Several folks have commented over the past weeks how fast life seems to be speeding by!
Our days are busy taking care of work,
or our aging and ailing bodies,
or the aging and ailing bodies of loved ones,
houses that never seem to run out of repairs,
or all of the above!
We also get caught up in the roller coaster ride of the current political landscape,
which seems to have new twists and turns every day, if not hour,
both in our own country and around the world.
So, those words that Jesus offered to his apostles:
“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while”
seem like they might just be golden words these days.
Come away for a while and rest….
When I lived in Durham,
I worked with quite a few folks who were unhoused for various reasons.
So, I was trained to fill out an assessment for unhoused people that would rank their vulnerability.
One of the questions was:
“Do you have planned activities each day,
other than just surviving,
that bring you happiness and fulfillment?”
In other words…
is there anything in your daily life that you do to find some rest from your daily tasks?
Is there anything you do in a day that restores you?
Jesus did not wait until the work was completed;
he invited the disciples to come away right in the middle of their busyness!
That is difficult to do.
And necessary.
When Jesus and the disciples hopped in a boat to go rest,
the crowds arrived at their resting place before they did.
Now, let me ask you this:
Have there ever been times in your life when you’ve been exhausted,
and then one more thing showed up for you to do?
Maybe your boss asked for one more task to be completed before you left,
or a student asked for help after school when you had hoped to go home,
or your spouse or family member needed to be tended to,
or your neighbor called with a crisis?
It is hard to give more when we are exhausted.
Too often my response has been irritability,
even if I just felt it on the inside.
I find it striking that instead of getting irritable when all those folks showed up during rest time,
Jesus saw the crowds and felt compassion toward them.
He felt compassion because he saw how desperately they were in need of healing and hope.
That is also why he invited the apostles to come away and rest…
they, too, were in need of rest and healing,
which, by the way, often restore hope.
Sometimes, or oftentimes, we are called upon to extend ourselves just a little more,
and I’d bet most often we do.
But, sometimes we just need to say “no” and take care of ourselves.
That is OK, too.
I suggest that gathering here on Sunday mornings is one place we come to
in order to “come away and rest.”
We gather with people we know who love us,
to share our journeys together,
to be nurtured by the Word of God in Scripture, prayer, and the breaking of Bread.
We find here a quiet place of healing and hope.
It is a “deserted” place in that it is a place of refreshment.
I encourage you to invite others you know to come and join us here.
The crowds of sheep without a shepherd are plentiful.
And all are welcome here
I also invite you to consider your own lives:
“Do you have planned activities each day,
other than just surviving,
that bring you happiness and fulfillment?”
In other words…
is there anything in your daily life that you do to find some rest from your daily tasks?
Is there anything you do in a day that restores you?
Last week I travelled to Memphis for my father’s birthday celebration.
On the way there and back, I spent several nights at St. Mary’s Convent in Sewanee.
It was very much a quiet place where I was able to find rest.
Locally, we have Lake Logan Conference Center.
You can spend the night if you want.
But, you don’t need to…you can just go sit or walk for a few hours
and listen to the gurgling of the river and the sounds of nature.
Lake Junaluska is a great place to take a stroll or walk the labyrinth.
Jesus restored himself through prayer,
quiet times spent alone,
intentionally abiding with God.
It is through times of restoration that we are able to continue God’s work
of love and reconciliation in this world,
and the world most decidedly needs such Grace these days.
So, I ask you: what do you need?
Jesus’ invitation stands:
“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves
and rest a while.”
Come… find rest for your souls.
Amen.
