Interrupted
| So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things. (Mark6:32-34) |
I'm not sure I would describe it quite like that, but Brenda and I talk about the "phone call that changes everything." We have our plans for the day, and then the phone call comes and the day takes a new direction.
Some of the most profound ministry comes out of times like that.
Luke talks about Jesus who came "to seek and save the lost" - and Mark will later quote Jesus saying: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Mark has portrayed Jesus as working hard: relentlessly healing, teaching and proclaiming the Kingdom of God. We've already seen Him being interrupted by His disciples while He was having His devotions, and now the crowds intrude on their rest time.
I'm sure some of the disciples responded wearily, impatiently and negatively as they approached the shore only to see the crowd waiting. But Jesus' first instinct is compassion and grace. And, seeing them as sheep without a Shepherd, He Shepherds them.
Now a cynical reading of this text might conclude: "See, there are always interruptions - so why bother trying to retreat, recover, rest and recuperate?"
But that is not the point of this passage.
The big point of this passage is to recognise that interruptions come.
- and sometimes they come, even during important times of rest.
That does not make rest unimportant
- and we should still try to "come apart and rest a while"
But the key thing is to learn that the way to deal with interruptions is to have COMPASSION.
