Coming Home
Coming Home “ Mark 6:30-34;53-56
Familiar places are just that. Familiar. And warm and comfortable as well. Coming home is a treat in so many ways. We know where to turn. We do not have to look for the road signs. We know the area . We are at rest because we do not have to deal with unexpected things usually. We come home to our own bed and our dog greets us with a warm hello or a crazy one in my case. Jack jumped all over the house when I came home. He spoke in loud barks for a long time and was so happy to see me that I had to get on the floor and touch lay with him and touch him, even before my wife. Yes, coming home is a delight.
The disciples had just witnessed the death of John the Baptist at the hand of King Herod. They were obviously sad and forlorn. Their activities had dominated the weeks before. And now they came to report to Jesus what they had seen and done. “ And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.” 6: 30
They told him what they had done and taught. This is what we focus on . But Jesus said unto them, “ Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile…” 6: 30
They told him what they had done and taught I repeat. But Jesus said unto them, “ Come ye yourselves apart unto a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” 6:31
While I was out visiting last week family I came across a little book called The Genesee Diary by Henri Nouwen who is well known in Christian circles for his books on God. He had been looking for a way to do better at his work and life and found no help. He took a 7 month retreat and found a lot of things that he was doing in the wrong way. He said, “ I saw that I was all mixed up….I see now I looked at every speaking engagement….as a new performance that calls for new preparation….Even small daily tasks …(were) an anxiety-provoking burden. The question is not,’ Do I have time to prepare? ‘But, ‘ Do I live in a state of preparedness?’ When God is my only concern, when God is the center of my interest…then I can live in such a state of preparedness and trust that speaking from the heart is also speaking to the heart.”
Jesus is not interested so much in our performances and accomplishments. He says , “ Come …and rest a while.” When we say we have no time to pray, we are too busy. Not only are we too busy we have forgotten the way of life itself. That way is a way of communion with God and a trust in His providence. Henri discovered that setting a time to pray was the only way to get close to God. What if the hour seems worthless? He found that it came together in meditation and prayerful reading. The discipline of having that commitment was enough to allow him to know God better and see a way of living that was not anxious.
“I wonder if I really have listened carefully enough to the God of history, the God of my history, and have recognized him when he called me by my name, broke the bread, or asked me to cast out my nets after a fruitless day? Maybe I have been living much too fast, too restlessly too feverishly, forgetting to pay attention to what is happening here and now, right under my nose. Just as a whole world of beauty can be discovered in one flower, so the great grace of God can be tasted in one small moment. …But you have to be still and wait so that you can realize that God is not in the earthquake, the storm, or the lightning, but in the gentle breeze with which he touches your back.”
Jesus had compassion because he saw the people as sheep not having a shepherd. Jesus has compassion on us as well when he sees us living apart from his grace and love. Whatever we do is not as important as living in His presence and rejoicing in His calm assurance that His peace is better than anything the world can give. Every evening I try and say this prayer that is called , “ A Prayer for Peace”:
“ O God , from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed; Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee, we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.” 1928 Book of Common Prayer a collect for Evening Prayer.
Today we come home. And in coming home to God we have and find all we need.
Familiar places are just that. Familiar. And warm and comfortable as well. Coming home is a treat in so many ways. We know where to turn. We do not have to look for the road signs. We know the area . We are at rest because we do not have to deal with unexpected things usually. We come home to our own bed and our dog greets us with a warm hello or a crazy one in my case. Jack jumped all over the house when I came home. He spoke in loud barks for a long time and was so happy to see me that I had to get on the floor and touch lay with him and touch him, even before my wife. Yes, coming home is a delight.
The disciples had just witnessed the death of John the Baptist at the hand of King Herod. They were obviously sad and forlorn. Their activities had dominated the weeks before. And now they came to report to Jesus what they had seen and done. “ And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.” 6: 30
They told him what they had done and taught. This is what we focus on . But Jesus said unto them, “ Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile…” 6: 30
They told him what they had done and taught I repeat. But Jesus said unto them, “ Come ye yourselves apart unto a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” 6:31
While I was out visiting last week family I came across a little book called The Genesee Diary by Henri Nouwen who is well known in Christian circles for his books on God. He had been looking for a way to do better at his work and life and found no help. He took a 7 month retreat and found a lot of things that he was doing in the wrong way. He said, “ I saw that I was all mixed up….I see now I looked at every speaking engagement….as a new performance that calls for new preparation….Even small daily tasks …(were) an anxiety-provoking burden. The question is not,’ Do I have time to prepare? ‘But, ‘ Do I live in a state of preparedness?’ When God is my only concern, when God is the center of my interest…then I can live in such a state of preparedness and trust that speaking from the heart is also speaking to the heart.”
Jesus is not interested so much in our performances and accomplishments. He says , “ Come …and rest a while.” When we say we have no time to pray, we are too busy. Not only are we too busy we have forgotten the way of life itself. That way is a way of communion with God and a trust in His providence. Henri discovered that setting a time to pray was the only way to get close to God. What if the hour seems worthless? He found that it came together in meditation and prayerful reading. The discipline of having that commitment was enough to allow him to know God better and see a way of living that was not anxious.
“I wonder if I really have listened carefully enough to the God of history, the God of my history, and have recognized him when he called me by my name, broke the bread, or asked me to cast out my nets after a fruitless day? Maybe I have been living much too fast, too restlessly too feverishly, forgetting to pay attention to what is happening here and now, right under my nose. Just as a whole world of beauty can be discovered in one flower, so the great grace of God can be tasted in one small moment. …But you have to be still and wait so that you can realize that God is not in the earthquake, the storm, or the lightning, but in the gentle breeze with which he touches your back.”
Jesus had compassion because he saw the people as sheep not having a shepherd. Jesus has compassion on us as well when he sees us living apart from his grace and love. Whatever we do is not as important as living in His presence and rejoicing in His calm assurance that His peace is better than anything the world can give. Every evening I try and say this prayer that is called , “ A Prayer for Peace”:
“ O God , from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed; Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee, we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.” 1928 Book of Common Prayer a collect for Evening Prayer.
Today we come home. And in coming home to God we have and find all we need.
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