He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
Jesus, shorter: Wouldn’t you feel better if you took a nap?
There are times in our lives when everything seems to move at an intolerable pace. I can certainly say that moving to another city and trying to sell one home, buy another, say all the goodbyes, prepare for what’s ahead and still do all the things that need to get done is one of those times. So please know I speak from experience when I say that sometimes we need to listen to Jesus. And just. Take. A. Break.
Because the reality is, you can probably wait a moment to send that e-mail. You don’t have to share that facebook post right away. You can linger a little longer over lunch. You can spend a few more minutes reading that book. The world will not, in fact, come to an end if you do. And yet wherever we look something is telling us that we can’t stop. We can’t let up. We have to keep going.
Jesus was no different. Look what happens immediately after he says this in the Gospels. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. The people would not let him rest. And so he taught and healed, and then went to another place, and the people did it again! They ran ahead and did whatever they could to get closer to Jesus. Such was their craving for peace, for healing, for relief.
I have two things to say to you all (and to me!) about this. 1) You are not Jesus. And neither am I. We need to rest. We need to seek out quiet deserted places to listen for the still small voice of God. We need to remind ourselves what gives us life, what brings us joy, what offers us peace. Especially when the world seems so loud, and so busy, we need to make that time.
And number 2) chasing after someone (or something) else for your peace will not bring you peace. What did all of these followers of Jesus end up doing to him? Cheering for his crucifixion. When we demand someone or something else provide us peace and clarity, eventually we end up turning on them. Because that can only come from within. From recognizing the presence of God within us and seeking to coax it out and share it with the world.
You may have, a time or two in the last week, said something like “If only…. Things would be better.” and filled in that space with any number of things. It is tempting to think there is a kind of silver bullet solution to our stresses and problems. To our challenges, both local and national.
“If only they would step down.”
“If only they would stop fighting”
“If only the Orioles would get another starting pitcher.”
“If only I could touch the hem of his cloak.”
But we can never predict what will happen with those external things. The pitcher could get injured, the replacement could be worse, etc. etc. It may grant you some temporary relief, but it won’t end the conflict out there and it won’t bring peace in here, to your heart.
That can only happen by stepping back and listening for God. Allowing God to speak from your heart. You have all you need right now to live a more peaceful, more joyful, more holy life. And when we start living that way those other problems and challenges don’t go away! But they do take on a more appropriate context and priority in our life and in the lives of those around us
Take some time this week to step back and seek peace friends. Seek out that still small voice of God.