Jeremiah 23:1-6. Ephesians 2:13-18. Mark 6: 30-34
Coming apart to come together in Christ.
‘Then Jesus said the apostles, “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest a while’ for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat.’’ Mark 6:30
This text is often a favourite text of retreat conductors.
The Authorised Version of the Bible translates this verse as, ‘And he said to them, ‘Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while; …’ a perfectly laudable translation.
However, on one occasion a retreat conductor, losing himself in moment of extemporary prayer, said, ‘Oh! Lord you have said in your word, “Come Ye apart;” Grant O Lord that we may come apart today!”
The feeling of ‘coming apart’ when life’s pressures get too much for us is something we all experience. ‘Stress’ is recognised as the major cause of mental health problems today particularly among many young people, who need urgent attention from limited resources. We also recognise that those who work in the NHS, the police and prison services, education and social services as well as families are finding it increasing hard to cope with the demands made on them. The term ‘broken’ is used to describe that feeling that things are not working and are coming apart. Human frailty is self-evident and this is reflected in the human systems we depend on in our society today. And it is not only the human systems.
Last Friday morning things came apart when IT systems collapsed across the globe due to the failure in the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. Computers systems at airports, railway stations, hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and pharmacies in England ceased to function, causing wide spread chaos. By the end of Friday we learned that the IT System had collapsed due to human error!
When systems we depend on fall apart, we become frustrated and angry. But it is then we need to show a greater compassion, patience and understanding towards one another. Easier said than done, I hear you say. But this is the central message in today’s gospel.
Last Sunday’s gospel told how Jesus had sent the twelve apostles, in pairs to go and preach in the towns and villages, giving them authority over unclean spirits. And they went out and preached calling people to repentance, and they cast out demons, and healed the sick.
As they return they tell Jesus of all they have done. We can imagine they told him of the joys and the sorrows of their mission, the times when their preaching was welcomed and when they were ignored and rejected.
In all this they discovered what meant to be willing ‘to spend and to be spent’ in witnessing to Jesus and the gospel. So he tells them, ‘Come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest a while’.
They needed space from the crowds who were still coming and going leaving them no time even to eat. Jesus understands their need to retreat and to be alone and still with the Lord.
But as he leaves with his disciples in the boat to go to some lonely place to rest, the crowds guess where they are going and they hurry round the lake on foot to meet him.
The disciples retreat is cut short and we can imagine they felt exasperated as they stepped ashore and were met by a large crowd waiting for Jesus so eager to see and hear him.
But the Lord shows no sign of exasperation, instead he takes pity on the crowd – for they ‘are like sheep without a shepherd.’ He is not overwhelmed by the number of people or their need. Instead he sees each one as a unique person made in the image of God and their need to be restored as a daughter or son of their heavenly Father.
Jesus, in his pity and compassion, reveals to us what God is like. The word ‘compassion’ comes from Latin meaning to ‘suffer-with’. Jesus comes to suffer with all humanity – for he knows our true need for God better than we know it ourselves. ‘… and he set himself to teach them at some length.’
In the first reading today the prophet Jeremiah speaks of God as the Good Shepherd, coming to gather his flock.
Jeremiah continues to describe a future king who will reign with wisdom and honesty and integrity. And ‘the name he will be called is: ‘The Lord-our-integrity’.
Jeremiah’s words give us an insight to what drew people and continues to draw people to Jesus. He plumbs the depths of our human hearts and our need to be healed of what is broken in us by sin, and to be healed by the mercy of God.
Jesus is the God/man, who dies and rises again for us and for our salvation. In Christ what had come apart is brought together in a new humanity. This is the meaning of him being called - ‘The Lord-our-integrity’ or ‘The Lord-our-righteousness’ for he puts us right with God.
In our fallen state we disintegrate. In penitence we acknowledge our sinfulness. We also acknowledge that there are unseen forces which militate against us and our human efforts to follow Christ. Then like the crowds in the gospel today we must hurry to come to Jesus and in prayer and pester him for his mercy and to teach us the way of salvation. For Christ Jesus alone gives us his peace.
As St. Paul writes to the Ephesians in the epistle today ‘In Christ Jesus, you that used to be far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us.’
And this peace is Christ’s gift to us at the altar today as we participate in the Blessed Sacrament of the precious Body and Blood of Christ. Here we become partakers of the grace of ‘The Lord-our-integrity’ and so live to the praise and glory of God the Father Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Fr. Andrew
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