Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In taking his disciples away to a lonely place after their period of missionary work, Jesus highlights the value of rest and the importance of space in the midst of a busy schedule. There was much to be done, both for Jesus and his disciples. Yet, Jesus recognized that there were other values alongside the value of activity, even activity in the service of God. There was the value of just being, of stepping back to spend time with oneself, with others and with God. Stepping back from what we do can help to ensure that our doing, our work, is shaped by God’s purpose and desire. In the first reading, Solomon had just become king of Israel. There was much to be done for the young king. Yet, in that reading, we find Solomon stepping back from his work as king to spend time with the Lord in prayer, asking the Lord for the gift of the wisdom and discernment he would need for his work as king. He recognized that if he was to rule in the way the Lord wanted, he would need the Lord’s help.  We all need to get that balance right in our lives between being and doing, between, on the one hand, being really present to others and to the Lord in prayer and, on the other hand, the many activities we are engaged in, some of them essential. In the gospel reading, the prayerful rest that Jesus sought out for himself and his disciples didn’t actually materialize. When they arrived at the lonely place, people were there waiting for them and, as the compassionate shepherd, Jesus set himself to teach them at great length. Thereby, Jesus was showing his disciples and us the importance of another value, the value of serving in love even those who unexpectedly disrupt our legitimate search for space, rest and prayer.