Come Away and Rest a While
The life of a celebrity is not all limousines and five-star hotel rooms. What is gained in public recognition and fame is often offset by what is lost in privacy and freedom of movement. In fact, interviews with celebrities often reveal, not their surprise at the crowds that surround them, but at the relentlessness of the people in those crowds… their constant and invasive presence… that it is impossible for them to go anywhere without being observed… trailed… and accosted by the paparazzi… and autograph hounds… and just the curious. Coupled with that, celebrities often report the sense of a loss of self… that they can, in a sense, drown in the demands of the crowd… and losing their sense of personal identity… and their true sense of who they are as individuals. Some lose their way completely… some escape into drugs and alcohol… and some disappear from public view. It is those who manage to rediscover… or retain their sense of self who survive… and thrive… despite the crowds that surround them.
The famous and the infamous alike seem to always be surrounded by crowds of people with no time for themselves… but they are not the only ones. Many of those who work to meet the needs of others also find that they cannot escape their work when the day ends. Counselors, school teachers, nurses, doctors, policemen and firemen are often called out in the evening or on weekends to respond to the needs of others because of their specialized training. And in today’s world, even those who do not have primary responsibility for meeting basic human needs at work still find that their work follows them wherever they go. Thanks to pagers, cell phones, computers, fax machines, and other miracles of modern technology, it is not possible to close the office door and leave our work at work. It follows us into some of the most intimate spaces of our lives.
The disciples were tired. They had just returned from their first solo mission venture. If you will recall, Jesus sent them out… two by two… to preach… and to heal… and to cast out demons. They had just returned and were filled with stories of their adventure. But, there were so many people around…so many people who had so many needs… and their needs were so great… that the disciples did not even have time to eat… much less time to sit and talk to Jesus.
So Jesus said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” And they followed him into a boat and set off for another place. Mark does not specify where they were going, but the gospel of Luke recounts that it was near Bethsaida, while the gospel of John puts it closer to Tiberias. Both places were away from major cities… in uninhabited places… not necessarily in the wilderness, but away from the crowd… from people in need… to a place where they could be alone with Jesus.
Getting away by himself was not new to Jesus. He did that many times… sometimes even escaping the press of the disciples… to be alone with God. Jesus spent most of his life feeding others…food for their bodies and food for their souls. In fact, one of the stories that divides the two parts of our text today is the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. But Jesus also understood how important it was for him to be fed… to spend time alone with God… and have his spirit refreshed… renewed… restored. In Hebrew, the word, nephesh, is a noun that means “soul” or “self.” In Psalm 23, the phrase, “he restores my soul” can also be translated “he restores my self.” Jesus’ time with God not only restored his sense of well-being at the deepest level… it also restored his true self. How important is it for us to reconnect with our souls… to find… or to rediscover… our true selves? But getting away by himself was becoming more and more difficult to do. Too many people knew him. Too many people recognized him. Too many people needed him. And they managed to find him wherever he went. His work never ended.
In 1960, expert testimony concerning time management was presented to a Senate subcommittee. The experts said that because of advances in technology, within twenty years or so, people would be radically cutting back on how many hours a week they worked… or how many weeks a year they worked… or else they would have to start retiring sooner. The great challenge, according to the experts of the sixties, was what people in our time would do with all of their free time. So, are you struggling with that? Are you struggling with what to do with all of your free time?
In reality, people more stressed today than ever. And the pressure of time is even greater than before. You see, expectations have increased right along with the technology. First class mail through the U.S. Postal Service used to be the primary way that we communicated with each other. Now, we call it “snail mail” because it is the slowest and the least desirable way to communicate with each other. Today, if we don’t answer our email within twenty-four hours, it is considered rude. If we don’t respond to our phone messages in the same day, folks think we are ignoring them.
Expectations in the workplace have increased as well. Due to improved technology, salaried workers are expected to be “on call” virtually 24/7. Every level of management brings increased expectations of job performance, requiring many to work at home on the weekends … at the very least, to scan their email daily... if not to prepare reports or presentations to be given the following week. As work demands increase, the balance of life disappears and the quality of life often suffers, leaving many dissatisfied…unhappy…and not infrequently, divorced. Apart from well-planned, highly scheduled vacations that are sandwiched between important conferences and youth camps, most families have little or no time together. And even vacations are subject to cancellation, if something critical erupts at work.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command. Jesus knew that life could get out of balance. Jesus knew that his disciples needed time away… to reflect on their work… to regain their focus… to be refreshed and renewed… to rediscover their true selves. Jesus stopped when it was time to stop… not when the work was finished. Jesus knew that the press of work would always be there… but that, even with people standing outside the door, his disciples needed time to be alone… and away in an uninhabited place.
In my last position before I went to seminary, I was an executive coach. I spent time in person and on the telephone with executives, helping them to identify priorities and organize their lives around those priorities. While many initially came to me with work problems, once the work problems were dealt with, the conversations often moved to their personal lives and the priorities they had for themselves and their families. What often emerged from these conversations is that their personal goals were frequently at odds with their stated work goals. If we worked together to achieve their stated work goals, often the increased conflict with their personal goals led to dramatic changes down the road.
I worked with one manager in a high tech firm, for example, who said that he wanted to become a director, with responsibility over an international business, reporting directly to a vice president. So that was what we worked on together. Over a period of time, he achieved that objective, even though it meant time away from home, a sometimes frenetic lifestyle, and, in his case, an extramarital affair, which he said that he wanted... until he came face to face with the possibility of divorce and the loss of his family. He called me again and, this time, as his focus shifted from work goals to personal goals, his stated objectives changed as well. Within two years, he left the company. He took some time off to rediscover himself. He got his teaching certificate and he now teaches high school business classes. His relationship with his wife and his family has been restored. He now has time for everything that he wants to do… and time for the people who are important to him. He believes he has found his true self.
I worked with another man, a manufacturing plant manager who wanted to become a corporate vice president. We put together a plan and, within a relatively short time, he achieved that goal, but it resulted in some of possibilities we had discussed… relocation across the country… which displaced his family… and increased business travel… leaving him with little time for himself or his family. At that point, his focus shifted to his personal goals and the plan we discussed then was very different than the original one. In just three years, he left the company and he is now a kiwi farmer in Oregon… and very, very happy. He, too, believes that he has discovered his true self.
One of dangers that comes from our Puritan heritage is the belief that work is sacred and that if we are not working… or serving others… every hour of every day, we are not being good stewards of God’s gifts to us. Perhaps, at times, we do spend too much time doing nothing, while those around us suffer. But many times, our time of “doing nothing” is just the burned-out shell of person staring hopelessly at an endless wall of work… unable to move… incapable of evening focusing on the figures moving across the face of our television sets. We, too, need time away… time to be alone… by ourselves… alone with God … time to rediscover our sense of self… time to restore our souls.
Jesus always took time away… to be alone… by himself… alone with God… time for rest… time for reflection… time to regain his focus… and time to pray. It was from this time alone that he drew his strength. Surrounded by the crowds… hemmed in by the demands of work… of life… we sometimes lose our focus… and our sense of who we are. Time away… time alone with God…time to reflect… time to pray… can restore our sense of self… can restore our souls… even if that time is brief. “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” It is not a suggestion. It is a command. “Come away.” Take the time to be alone… with God… today. Amen.