16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Jer 23: 11-6; Eph 2: 13-18; Mk 6: 30-34

Jesus lived in a very different world from ours - no cars or planes, no Internet, no mobiles .. perhaps no pressure? But there were no labour-saving devices either, so work would have been much more laborious and timeconsuming. So perhaps pressure aplenty! And no matter how much you love people, having to deal with constant demands for healing, counselling and teaching takes its toll. So even Jesus had to get away, to take time out, with His disciples in order for them all to re-charge their batteries .. to pick daisies! But even as He sails away, many of the crowd can guess where He and His friends are going, so that when He reaches His "lonely place" there's an expectant crowd waiting for further teaching. His first reaction is one of pity for poor people bereft of guidance, ordinary people, often the victims of injustice and cruelty, simply looking for a light to guide their way, a wisdom by which to live. Something told this people that they had found a treasure, the gold at the end of the rainbow, and they wanted more.

It's one of the very few passages in the Gospel where Jesus advocates taking time out for leisure, something which was advocated throughout the Scriptures. It's not a concession to those who are weak, but a command to help all of us to stay strong. Time out is God's way of helping our bodies and minds relax, to get things back into perspective and so help us to re-focus on Him and those eternal things which are more important than the demands of the moment. And in that sense, picking daisies has equal value - if not more - to preaching sermons! But in spite of His tiredness, He finds the inner strength to teach the people at some length.

Keeping that balance can be hard. Because not only do we have to work at jobs, which in themselves can be very demanding, but we have families and friends, both well and sick, to keep in contact with, but whom we haven't seen for more than a year, as well as church and perhaps community responsibilities. While the church could certainly do with more volunteers, so many could be more effective in their mission if only they were to slow down, and "be" or "chill" rather than "do"!

So how do we achieve that balance? Setting aside a day of the week for a complete change or break is obviously the best solution for those whose work allows it. For others, it might be necessary to block off a little time for self, by resolving not to do anything for a particular time. Isn't it great, sometimes, to come into your house and not find all your children and grandchildren there! If Jesus and His disciples needed to stop, so do we. So it's necessary to take time out, perhaps even just to sit quietly and offer up our silence to God, Who won't see it as time wasted, it's time given to Him. So maybe this week, take time off just to pick daisies - although I'm already fed up with that! - look around, and actually appreciate God's world ... and Him!