“Come away away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”
~Mark 6:31

A couple of weeks ago these words appeared in the lectionary readings for worship. The words are part of a story about Jesus and the disciples in the early days of their ministry. The scripture tells of the disciples and Jesus being so busy healing and telling the good news of God that they didn’t even have time to eat. The words bookend the story of the feeding of the 5000, one of the primary early stories of the Christian community.

It was my privilege to unpack this scripture during worship. So I had spent several weeks reading about this text, mulling its content and intention over in my head. I had read what other people had written about the text and their scholarship about the original meaning of the words. I had read passages of other books about the importance of getting away, taking time to rest, finding renewal in the busy lives we all seem to lead these days.

From this gathering of other’s words and some thoughts of my own, I fashioned a message I hoped would be helpful to some and at least benign to others. The responses were favorable for the most part and many people remarked about how ‘those were the words they needed to hear’. Not too bad on any preaching day. A few smiled and nodded as they passed me by not ready to commit to any kind of comment. Again, not too bad for most sermons.

It was only later that I heard from people who thought the message was bunk. To be fair, it was only two which again in a preaching world isn’t too bad either! But I was fascinated by the fact that, for some people, the idea of being encouraged to rest and be renewed was hogwash. Even if the original message came out of Jesus’ mouth and not mine.

And then I thought about how often, particularly in the church, there always seems to be a tension between those who live out their faith primarily through action and those who live out their faith primarily through prayer and contemplation. I have been in more than one meeting where these two camps of people butt heads about any number of issues. Those issues, from my observation, often come down to people holding out a judgment about who is REALLY doing the work of God. Are we more faithful in our acts of justice and compassion or those moments of deep listening and communion with the Holy through prayer and meditation?

Frankly, I have always found it difficult to believe we can have one without the other. Of course, given personality types and how we are generally wired differently, we may fall more easily in one camp or the other. But to think that my way of living out my faith is superior to another seems counter to the gospel which, as I read it, holds a balance of both doing and being.

Anyway, the experience once again opened my eyes to this tension and to the messiness of being church and doing church. I have spent a good deal of time reflecting upon it. In the meantime, I am holding onto Jesus’ encouragement to go to quiet places. To rest. At least for me, it is what I know I need in order to practice living a life that arcs toward justice, kindness, compassion and peace.

What about you? What quiet places call to you? Are you in need of rest these days if only so you can do the difficult tasks that have landed on your plate? Are you finding yourself too busy even to eat? If so, may you hear the words of Jesus calling your name: “Come away to a quiet place and rest.”