In the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist has just been killed, and the disciples took his body and laid it in a tomb, presumably for a proper burial of respect. Then, in Mark 6:30-32 it reads: "The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves." Soon after this retreat, they encounter crowds following them, which leads to the story of the feeding of the five thousand. But we shall focus on the intention of Jesus for the disciples to retreat and rest with him.
Jesus instructs his disciples to come away to a deserted place...but not just any deserted place, one where they would be the only people around! This makes me recall the first night of my retreat, on Sunday, when a gentleman in our group was checking into the hotel at Paris Landing. He said to the staff, "I only live thirty minutes from here; I don't know why they're making me stay overnight!" There is something about a retreat which Jesus insisted for his disciples that they would be alone, entirely by themselves, and not bring all of the concerns of home. Surely we can think of every Sunday morning as a mini-retreat, as worship is a setting where we are able to leave our worldly concerns at home and focus on heavenly matters. But it is crucial for the spiritual, mental and physical rest of our bodies that we get away from the busyness of our lives as fully as possible at times, and spend that time solely with Jesus. A vacation is not a perfect synonym for a retreat; a retreat allows restoration of the whole self, and includes a focus on Christ. That could very well appear to be a vacation in the eyes of the world, but often our vacations include more busyness than we even had at home!! Jesus is calling his disciples to rest from their daily lives, a full rest, not partial or half-hearted.
Secondly, it's interesting to see what prompts Jesus into declaring a retreat. In Mark 6 before our text, we have the gruesome story of the murder of John the Baptist, a dear friend of theirs, which caused significant emotional distress and mandated all sorts of work in consoling, burying and dealing with the drama around his arrest. Jesus is prompted to call his disciples to retreat after they tell him all about the craziness of their lives. How delightfully simple yet utterly profound! Jesus recognizes his disciples' fatigue at an especially exhausting time, and invites them to rest with him away from the commotion. He doesn't stop them in the middle of the action, but waits for an appropriate time after everything settles down. But life is still going on; even though it's slowing back to normal, we as humans need more than just a normal pace to recover from such a crazy one. Perhaps we too ought to consider a re-centering retreat now and then, particularly after busy seasons, claiming that we are finite, cannot handle everything on our own, and should give in to God's will for our own restful benefit!?
These words of Scripture help us to place ourselves, in the 21st century, into the text still more profoundly: "For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." I'm not suggesting all of Scripture isn't applicable to us in 2016, but how many verses of Scripture can so accurately and poignantly describe our world, two thousand years later?! If we had to take one verse of all the Bible and use it to define 21st-century America, in my opinion, this would be it!! I cannot tell you how many times I have had friends and family tell me that they skipped lunch or even a beverage while they were at work, whether at a paid job or on a project for the home. Scripture is pointing out something about human nature that is terribly common, that we as human beings are willing to work ourselves to the bone--or work others to the bone on our behalf--without even taking the time to eat, drink, and rest properly. I wonder why that is? Perhaps it is because we feel that if we just work hard enough we will have everything we've ever wanted? Is it because through our busyness we have greater control over our situation and world? Please, allow Scripture to guide your mind on this matter--Jesus acknowledges your work ethic and yet calls you to rest, recuperate and take care of yourself, because he has the whole world in his hands--and you don't!
We must own the fact that we as humans are unable and insufficient to solve all of the problems of this fallen, broken world. If we could, these problems would no longer be here. No matter how hard we work ourselves, God's Kingdom is inevitable, and will restore everything to its fullest potential! No matter what you accomplish in life, the end result is exactly the same! And what God values is not the bank account you bequeath to your children, not the number of plaques dedicated in your name at organizations around the world, but a real relationship with you and the rest of his children. The only thing we're called to build up in this world is our connection with God. Yes, that will include plenty of work and busyness; but Lord knows we can't keep it up forever.
If you have not thought about rest, retreat and Sabbath in a while, or ever, I challenge you to read Deuteronomy 5, which contains the Ten Commandments. Notice that the longest commandment, according to the text we have, is the commandment on sabbath!!!!!! I encourage you to pray about how you might live into rest and restoration more in 2016 for you and your family. Just remember that sabbath is not just a vacation to Disney Land; it is an intentional time spent away from your daily distractions that includes reflection and prayer to God. If God is left out of your retreat, then it is merely a time of vacation, devoid of the true restoration God so generously desires to provide.
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