Rest a while
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2019 16:00:22 +0000
JESUS teaches us a lesson: there is time, or we should make time, for everything. The Apostles have just returned from their “mission,” and Jesus knows they need some rest, so he asks them to find a suitable place. Jesus is sensitive to the needs of his followers and co-workers. He is not a slave driver; he is not a “workaholic”: he knows the importance of work and the place of rest and relaxation.
Many of us now seem to be driven only by the need to work, work, and work. We forget to rest or spend time with our families and friends. But the time we “waste” in resting and relaxing actually enables us to perform our future tasks better. Besides, the value of our work will ultimately be measured by the extent that they help us to fulfill our mission on earth or to bring us closer to God, as St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches. May we be zealous workers for the Kingdom but also wise disciples who know the value of “play.”
Do we value time for rest, relaxation, and prayer? Or do we see these as wasting our time?
Gospel: Mk 6:30-34
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.