A Well-Deserved Rest

July 21, 2024

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 6:30-34

We have been very fortunate to have been able to take several spectacular vacations over the years. I was instilled with a wandering heart by my parents who also loved to travel. As a result, she and I have tried to instill that same love of the sense that  “the world is your playground” with our children. Whether it is international travel, travel to National Parks and cities in the US, or just within our state, I agree with Mark Twain, when he said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Yet, as much as I love to travel and to see and experience new things, I have (with one exception) have always been ready to come home. At some point, I just want to sleep in my own bed. I want to brush my teeth in my own bathroom. And I want to tell others about my adventures and misadventures. Now we enjoy watching the video that I created of each vacation for posterity. Even the trips that were messed up with bad weather or other problems, we look at them now and laugh, or at least smile, about the hurdles we overcame.

In today’s Gospel, the apostles return home after having been sent by Jesus to proclaim his good news and to heal the sick. The Gospels are silent about how long they had been away from Jesus, but I’m willing to bet it was more than just a couple for weeks. Certainly, they were tired, a bit homesick, and wanting to see family, friends, and most of all, Jesus. Imagine the scene, as, pair by pair, the apostles returned. The stories they told to each other would have drawn awe, laughter, and a bit of good-natured teasing. As tired as they undoubtably were, I have no doubt they were up late each night around a bonfire regaling each other with amazing stories of they were able to accomplish in Jesus’ name.

Finally, once all had returned, Jesus told them they all need a well-deserved rest. After all they had been thru, they needed time to decompress, time to reflect, time to sleep, and time to pray. It sounds like they did not get a lot of time to do those things, but I’m hoping they all got a little time to unwind before diving back into the ministry of helping Jesus with the throngs.

It’s the same for me, I suppose. When I get home from even a short camping trip, all I want to do is to unwind and kick back a bit. But nope, there are tasks to be done. The lawn needs to be cut. The laundry needs to be done. The car is a mess. I have emails to catch up on and phone calls to make. I want to see my family. And, oh ya – I gotta go to work. How often have I said that I need a vacation to recover from my vacation?

I have found that my best time to unwind is often short intervals over a period of days. One day, it might be to just sit on the deck at dusk and be still. Another day, I might be looking over the ten-hundred pictures we took and smiling at the memories. And another day, it’s being still before my God in simple gratitude. I don’t do that last one nearly often enough. But I’m trying to get better.

I have to remember the importance of sitting with Jesus and telling him my stories, my adventures, and my misadventures. Ultimately, that is what calms me and restores my inner peace. When I encounter someone who is all stressed out about how busy they are and how much they have to do, perhaps I can suggest that they, too, spend a little time with Jesus, just telling him about their day, their life’s struggles, and their joys. Perhaps they will find a little peace in their life as a result.

Every Day.