Weekly Whispering for the week preceding Sunday, July 22, 2018

The Scripture

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.  He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”  For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.  And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.         

Mark 6: 30-32           

The Whispering 

The writers of our Weekly Whisperings have their choice of reading on which they would like to reflect, based on the scriptures appointed for the following Sunday.  When I read Mark’s words, “Come away… and rest for a while,” I thought, “How could I not be attracted to that?!” 

How many of us “have no leisure”?  Do we have to be part of that group too?  Is it necessary for our children to belong to both (all) those activities?  Are we busy doing the Lord’s work, or is it a making of our own doing? 

I am certainly not saying that we shouldn’t do our part in the building up of God’s kingdom.  We need Sunday School teachers, vestry members, soup kitchen volunteers, etc.  We need activists to stand up for our beliefs, and people to tend to the poor and needy.  We need to spend time with our families and encourage them to grow.  But we also need time for ourselves so we can go to a deserted place and rest.   

Many of the ordained ministers I know talk about “sabbath.”  For years I thought sabbath only referred to a commandment that instructed me to attend worship every week.  But my ordained friends and teachers have broadened that definition for me to include worship, rest and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus; a day of delightful communion with God and one another.   

Now I am not necessarily good at practicing that wider meaning of sabbath myself, but I do believe it’s a good goal to have and to actively work toward.  Taking rest for not just our bodies, but for our minds and souls is important; Jesus instructed his apostles to do so.  The next time you have no time to eat, take a minute to schedule a time of rest, sabbath.  Ask yourself what you need to do to use that time well, for you.  Because you know that the demands of life will return when you open the door again.     


This week's Whispering was written by Kathy Heikkinen