The Nazareth Page -A gospel meditation for your home
July 21, 2024 – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mark 6:30-34
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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Today’s gospel reading is one of my favorites. We hear or read the following words from Jesus. “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.”
It is summertime in our land, vacation time for many. Long ago it was learned that if one worked all the time, a certain amount of productivity is achieved. But if you occasionally step away from your work routine for rest and relaxation, you will become even more productive. Of course, these days some experience this free time as anything but a time of refreshment and peace of mind. They schedule elaborate and often quite expensive trips to overcrowded places where their stress level escalates rather than diminishes. But that’s not what Jesus was thinking when he directed his disciples to “rest awhile.”
Knowing human nature as he did, Jesus knew that life can be very complex and quite demanding. Of course, there are needs to be met, people to help and activities that make the world a better place for all. But we also need times of peace and quiet when we can refresh ourselves in a less hectic setting.
Serving this need over centuries, many religious communities created opportunities for what became known as a “retreat.” It was to be a time for pulling away from the labor and the demands of each day to a place where one could focus more on the presence of God within and around us. During times of quiet meditation and prayer, one could deepen one’s appreciation the gift of life and breath and beauty that is often overlooked in the hectic pace of daily life.
Of course, fulfilling this need for occasional moments of quiet can happen at any time and in any place. One could do this by just quieting oneself at any time of the day or night. When I was younger, I learned that God is everywhere – a comforting thought that still remains in me.
These days my “retreat” time might happen at any time. Of course, to create “a deserted place” I might have to turn off the TV or step away from my laptop or any other situation where I would be distracted. I have learned the value of silence which is something spiritual people often recommend. God is always close by and willing to connect with me. The question for me is am I listening? Or is there too much noise around me?
David M. Thomas, PhD