Come Away and Rest for a While - January 28
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 50; PM Psalm [59, 60] or 118; Isa. 49:13-23; Gal. 3:1-14; Mark 6:30-46
As we are currently confined to the upstairs of our home right now, it is hard to escape conversations (and find personal space). Anne was talking with a friend from out of town yesterday. Her friend, who works in an independent school, was absolutely exhausted. Conversations about pandemic, death of family members, conversations around racial equity and diversity with faculty and students, conversations around student mental health, the challenges of remote learning, and schedules shifting, were taking quite a toll. Even though I could only hear one side of the conversation, I could tell that her friend was at wit’s end.
Even though the world seems to have slowed down, and the social commitments that are required of each of us are fewer than we had come to depend on, I do not think Anne’s friend has feelings that are unique. Many of my colleagues in other churches are on the brink of burnout. I read a story yesterday about a nurse who had personally used her iPhone to help twenty patients say goodbye to their families only to then be berated in a grocery store as she wore a mask by someone claiming the pandemic to be a hoax. I wonder what the fallout from this pandemic will be, not this year, but in the years to come, as the emotional, spiritual, and physical exhaustion continues to build up.
Maybe this is why the beginning of our passage from Mark jump out at me. The apostles are gathered around Jesus, and Mark says, “and [the apostles] told him all that they had done and taught.” Where before I might have read that with an excited sense of eagerness to know the stories of the apostles, I wonder now, if they were more unloading their imploding sense of exhaustion from a radical call to ministry. Jesus then says, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
I think it is easy to overlook the importance of these few strong words. We are so accustomed to continuing to push through challenges, to feel like we cannot rest until every problem has been resolved, and everything within our control and agency has been addressed. And yet Jesus offers simple words and an invitation to rest.
See the truth of our faith is not just looking for a future kingdom come, but believing that Christ’s resurrection has also changed our present reality. While our faith compels us to follow Jesus by loving our neighbor as ourselves and by seeking and serving Christ in all people, living into this vision of compassion also requires rest and nourishment for our souls. I wonder this day if we all have been trying too hard. Or better yet, maybe we just need a reminder to be a little kinder to ourselves, learn to catch our breath, and trust that God doesn’t need us to fix all of the world’s problems this very moment. That work can be left for tomorrow. Come away, and rest for a while.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: How do you handle exhaustion or burnout? What are the driving factors that cause you to be emotionally exhausted?
Daily Challenge: When was the last time you powered off your phone? Try turning the power off for two hours today.