David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 6:30-32

The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. ³¹ So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.

³² So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone.

When I was a little boy, I hated taking naps. I thought I would miss some fun or excitement. Now, I look forward to a Sunday afternoon nap. With golf on the TV – whispering commentators and mostly quiet crowds – and the long sofa in our living room are a wonderful napping combination. Usually that’s because the joyful task of preaching takes a lot from me. While I greatly enjoy the task, I give it my all and come away sometimes desperately needing a rest.

So I can understand Jesus’ invitation to his disciples just returning from their mission. They may have just experienced great success, but it took much from them and they needed to rest. Jesus did too. And while they will necessarily miss some things by their absence during their rest, their rest will bring them greater gain.

That’s because this divine rhythm is the rhythm of renewal and life itself. If we ignore that rhythm we will soon wear out our souls and bodies. Jesus knew this and taught it to is disciples by example and urging. To be alone allows us more opportunity to focus on God, without distraction. It allows us to be in the place of receiving since we can never give God anything. It also reflects God’s own example from the beginning of time.

Perhaps you are reading this on Monday. Maybe you have a long week in front of you. It might be that you are ready for this because you did rest yesterday on Sunday. If not, perhaps the divine rhythm of Jesus and his disciples will find a greater priority in your life next weekend. If Jesus needed to do it, certainly we need to even more.

Mark 6:30-44

The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. ³¹ So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.

³² So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone. ³³ But many people saw them leave and recognized them. The people ran from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he spent a lot of time teaching them.

³⁵ When it was late, his disciples came to him. They said, “No one lives around here, and it’s already late.³⁶ Send the people to the closest farms and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “Should we go and spend about a year’s wages on bread to feed them?”

³⁸ He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out, they told him, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.”

³⁹ Then he ordered all of them to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

⁴¹ After he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the people. He also gave pieces of the two fish to everyone. ⁴² All of them ate as much as they wanted. ⁴³ When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets with bread and fish. ⁴⁴ There were 5,000 men who had eaten the bread.