Lonely Places
AM Psalm 40, 54 • PM Psalm 51
Isa. 50:1-11 • Gal. 3:15-22 • Mark 6:47-56
“Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” Mark 6:31a
The disciples are tired. Bone tired. Jesus has sent them out to preach, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick, and they’ve done it. Now they’ve returned with a tiredness perhaps only Jesus can understand. There’s no time to rest, not even time for a meal because, as St. Mark describes in his staccato style, the crowds keep running ahead of Jesus and the disciples so that no matter where they go, the people get there first. In the first verses of chapter 6, the compassionate Jesus tells his disciples to get away in the boat “to a lonely place” by themselves. Jesus, also exhausted in body and spirit, joins them, and for a little while they rest. As soon as they land, eager crowds assail them. Knowing he can’t ignore their physical hunger if they’re ever to feel spiritual hunger, Jesus tells the disciples to feed them. Afterward, Jesus wants to be alone, totally alone, to repair and refresh. He puts the weary disciples onto a boat again and says he’ll meet them on the other side of the lake. The disciples must have expected Jesus to walk around the lake, a goodly hike, and eventually to meet them on the other side. Instead, Jesus goes to the mountain, his own “lonely place,” to pray. About four o’clock in the morning, the disciples find themselves once again powerless against a mighty wind. Once again, Jesus, caught taking a shortcut by walking across the water instead of around it, joins them in the boat and stills the storm.
Mark moves his narrative rapidly. People don’t walk in his gospel; they run. He writes the word “immediately” (NT Greek: euthys) some forty times in his sixteen chapters. Jesus doesn’t have time to waste if he’s to get all the teaching, preaching, and healing done in his few years. But Jesus also shows us the importance of getting away to pray, to meditate … and to rest. We’ve had our “lonely places” during these past months, and we may have them for many months to come. But if we can turn loneliness into “aloneness,” making time alone in God’s presence a good thing; if we can perceive our homes as sanctuaries rather than prisons; if we can think of ourselves as cloistered instead of locked-down, these months will provide unimaginable opportunities for retreat and reflection. Then, when life comes round to some semblance of what we used to think of as normal, we will be renewed and ready for the Godly run.
Written by Kay DuVal
Kay wishes everyone a healthier, happier new year, as we await with hope our turns to receive the vaccine.