Life is full of cycles;
breathing out and breathing in; work and rest; talking and listening, wax
on, wax off (oops! Sorry), ministry and prayer. Sometimes finding that
balance between ministry work and prayerful rest is often difficult to
maintain. Jesus knew all about that."Then Jesus said, ‘Let's get away
from the crowds for a while and rest.’ There were so many people coming
and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat. They
left by boat for a quieter spot." (Mark 6:31-32, NLV)
The disciples had just returned from a ministry tour that Jesus had sent
them out to do. They were excited and told Jesus all they had done and
what they had taught. Jesus wisely knew that this was the time for a
spiritual debriefing, rather than to continue to give out. Getting away
just at the peak of exuberance after a mission trip may be just the
opposite of what your flesh wants to do, but it is wise. When you don’t
even have time to share a meal with your friends, it is time to retreat.
On the other hand, this verse in Mark comes right on
the tail of the account of the death of John the Baptist, whom Jesus was
very close to. There are times of mourning when we need to go through
something of a grieving process, and if we don’t recognize our need to
care for our souls by getting alone, we may be able to carry on, but we
will harm ourselves. As the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is, "A
time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."
For whichever reason, and perhaps because of both, this was a time to
"come apart" for the disciples. As some have pointed out, sometimes
if we do not "come apart," we may "fall apart." Jesus and
the disciples left by boat for a quieter spot.
Learning from the Monks
Monastic life is a wonderful concept, and several of us at the college are
fascinated with it. But the contemplative life does not work without the
careful balance of three levels of privacy in your life. Let me
explain.The outer circle of your life is the public life. The monks call
it "secular" ministry. This is where everyone, good or bad, clean
or dirty, givers or takers, has access to your life. You leave the
monastery and actually seek out these relationships, because the Lord has
sent you out like a sheep among wolves. You are on the world’s turf in
your public life. Jesus spent much time healing and preaching in this
wide-open public arena.But at times, you must retreat into a more
cloistered community, where only guests are allowed. You may have invited
these guests, or they may have invited themselves, but the rule of the
monastery is to welcome any guests as if welcoming Jesus himself. The gift
of hospitality cannot be overemphasized in the church today, for it is
where the world gets to watch you in your element of semi-public (or
semi-private) audiences. Jesus focused on the twelve, or on the three who
were closest to him, or he ate at someone’s house. These are the living
room chats of our lives that can be used by the Lord for great eternal
good.
Every monk could tell you, however, that the key to
spiritual vitality is the private cell. This is private space to which no
one, not even another monk, is invited. In your little room is a palate
for sleeping, a little desk and lamp with a Bible and a prayer book. Here
you do your private business with God, your personal soul work, your
intimate prayer. Jesus told his disciples (in the KJV): "But
thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut
thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
(Matt 6:6)
Of course, our Lord
practiced what he preached. "And in the morning, rising up a great
while before day, he went out, and departed into a
solitary
place, and there prayed."
(Mark 1:35, NLV)
What does it take for you to create that private
space where just you and God meet? My regular practice in my busy house
for the last several years has been in the early morning to sit with a
comforter draped over my shoulders or a hood on my head and make that my
private sanctuary. You may need to get up extra early and inconvenience
yourself mightily to get alone, as Jesus did, but this is where power for
ministry comes from. Without coming apart, you may just fall apart right
when you needed to draw from that reserve of wisdom the Lord desired to
give you for the fray of the day.
The Rest of the Story…
And now for the rest of the story: Jesus and the
disciples get into the boat and start off for a solitary place. How long
they had in the boat I don’t know. Perhaps minutes or a few hours. In any
case, Mark tells us, "But many people saw them leaving, and people from
many towns ran ahead along the shore and met them as they landed. A vast
crowd was there as he stepped from the boat." (Mark 6:33-34, NLV)
They weren’t able to get away, after all. So, Jesus
had to draw from the reserves of strength and wisdom and love that he had
amassed earlier, and he continued to give in the public arena. Notice that
He did not do so reluctantly, like I might have done: "[He] had
compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he
taught them many things." (6:35, NLV) In fact, he fed five thousand
men from five loaves and two fish at the end of that day. Now,
that’s an exhausting day of ministry!
But that’s not really the end of the story: Jesus
rounds out this balanced life of His by making the disciples get back into
the boat and head back across the water, while He sent the people home.
Then, don’t miss this final sentence: "Afterward he went up into the
hills by himself to pray." (v 46) Whether early or late, Jesus’
priority was quiet time, alone time with His Father. And that’s the "rest"
of the story.
Sunday, Ben challenged us to be more like Jesus.
This is one more important way in which I want to be like Him. Enjoy your
solitude today!
