“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
Earlier in the Gospel of Mark, and in passage we will read tomorrow, Jesus had gone to a deserted place to rest after healing "all who were ill or possessed by demons" in Capernaum. In the evening, after sunset, "whole town was gathered at the door" and yet it was "very early before dawn" when he left for the deserted place. On that occasion his disciples pursued him.
In today's Gospel it was the Apostles who were now involved in the mission that Jesus called to come apart into the desert with him. Jesus desired to give his Father time that was his alone, that his primacy and centrality in his life would be a reality. Jesus not only spoke of the Father as his source, but he demonstrated it but his dependence on him for the rest he found in prayer, rest that was more important than a more sleep or physical relaxation. So now his disciples would learn that they were meant to find rest in time apart with Jesus, who was himself a revelation of the Father (see John 14:9).
We can learn much from this example that Jesus sets, this guidance he gives to his Apostles. We can see that we must be intentional about prayer. It would be entirely possible to get so caught up in the variety of legitimate activity, even corporeal and spiritual works of mercy, as to neglect the source. But we can't give what we don't have. So we must make time for God, even if it is early after a night that was later than we would have liked. And we may not be able to spend as much time with him as we would like. But if we do spend time with him we will be better able to re-engage with those vast crowds that pursue us with their demands.
When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
It is difficult to know when to rest and when to work without the guidance of the shepherd.
May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead
the great shepherd of the sheep
by the Blood of the eternal covenant,
furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will.
If we do not neglect our time apart with Jesus we can live our lives more and more as offerings to him. Not only our prayer but also our actions will become a continual "sacrifice of praise" which nevertheless begins as "the fruit of lips that confess his name."
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (see Romans 12:1).
When we seek the source of our life, when we give him the centrality he deserves, the other things we do are taken up into our service of him. Words of praise, obedience to leaders, sharing with others, all of these are taken up as they become less about what we do and more about God carrying out what is pleasing to him in us through Jesus Christ. Our prayer will be "glory forever and ever" and our lives will conform, little by little, but increasingly, with that prayer.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
The Lord wants us, who are weary and burdened, to learn to come to him for rest (see Matthew 11:28-30). He wants our burden to be taken up into the burden he already carried, and our offering to be united to his. The place where the sacrifice of praise is most perfectly present is in the offering of the Mass. Let us not neglect to offer what we can in union with all that he has given.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
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