Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
Pause
This evening I would like to consentrate on the first bit of our reading
Our lectionary is great as it causes us to take a balance in our Christian life, sometimes we are caused by our readings to get out and do things, sometimes we are caused to reflect on Sin and then to repent, sometimes we are caused to think about others and other times we are reminded to pause, to take stock of where we are.
Every single one of us needs rest ... we need rest to recharge our batteries, we need rest to re-engage with God, we need rest to remind us where we are and what we are doing. Our american brothers and sisters may call it a “Time Out”.
We are spiritual beings, we are called to take time out, to reflect on how much more there is to life. We are called to mediatate on Scripture, to discover the richness of prayer.
The greatest resource that we have, the most limited resource we have on this planet is time. How we use this time allotted to us speaks so much about our priorities.
Over the past couple of months I have been very concious of this ... I have met lots of people in homes the length and breadth of the parish who are extremely busy either with work or dealing issues within their families.
I also know from speaking with Good school friends that spending time with the important people in their lives is difficult - due to other demands on their time.
It is one of the reasons that I am I running with the idea of Pause. Simply taking “Time out”. Of giving people the excuse to meet up for a picnic lunch, or a cup of coffee and a chat detail of the events are in the magazine.
The whole Idea of Pause is to use it as an excuse ...to be honest ... I’m very happy if nobody turns up ... as I would be glad if 100’s do! if you cant get out to the pause things in the magazine ... please don’t worry ... It is simply an excuse to take a break from the norm. To meet up with friends, to encourage one another.
To do what those disciples were trying to do in that boat ... to get away and pause but pause with a purpose ... to be with Jesus and with one another.
We are called to be people who do pause, If the all powerful Jesus and his disciples needed to take time out how much more do we.
Every single one of us has a spiritual side to our lives ...
Nobody is called to a 24/7 Job, we all need to take time out, to an active rest which can sustain us but as Christians we are called to life in all its fullness. And here in lies the tension of being and doing, of as Mars Bar’s famously.... Working, Resting and Playing
It is my prayer that we discover what this means in our lives. That we would find places in which we can pause, that we can build into our lives a rhythm of places where we can be fed, challenged, where we can process how we are developing in our walk with God and then put into practice what we are thinking.
A couple of practical questions
- How in the past week, month and year have you rested?
- How in the past week, month and year have you taken time out with God?
- How in the past week, month and year have you done something practical for God?
Let us Pray
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