Saturday, July 11

Today’s Readings: Psalm 140; 1 Samuel 29:1-30:10; Mark 3:7-19a; Ephesians 3:7-13; Psalm 119:49-72


There were many wonderful aspects of being raised in the household in which I was raised. My parents and siblings were amazingly kind, generous people who taught me we are put here to help make the world a better place. I will forever be grateful for their examples. There was one terribly dangerous lesson I picked up along the way. My folks taught me that if anyone ever made a request of you and you had the ability to meet it, you should do so. This was particularly true of requests on our time. Consequently, the only way I believed it was okay to say “No” was if I already had another commitment. This meant that I spent years and years busy all the time! This took a tremendous toll on me. It took me well into my thirties before I was able to learn it was okay to go off and spend some time alone to recharge my batteries. I wonder now why I didn’t pay more attention to passage like today’s Gospel reading from Mark – because such passages explicitly tell us that Jesus knew of the important of finding time for himself. “Jesus went off with his disciples to the sea to get away,” today’s passage begins. And when the crowds tried to push into Jesus “me time”, how did he respond? “[Jesus] told his disciples to get a boat ready so he wouldn’t be trampled by the crowd.” Eventually, Jesus even “climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him.” In other words, Jesus had excellent boundaries. Today’s Gospel reading puts forth an important lesson for us: it’s important to spend some time without the company of other human beings. Such time not only deepens our relationship with ourselves: it deepens our relationship with God as well. Perhaps you have found yourself in a place like me – spending a huge chunk of your time responding to the demands of the world and totally forgetting to find time for yourself. If that’s the case, make some time for yourself. Do so not as an act of selfishness or self-centeredness; do so as a way of following Jesus’ example. Til next time…