Day 062: Meditation

And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  Mark 6:30-32

The theme of rest comes up every once in a while in the Gospels, and they show that even Jesus rested from time to time.  That's the gift that we have from Jesus, that he understands how our living is, with all the troubles, temptations, and even the strain.

Jesus led his disciples to do difficult tasks, especially sending them out to preach the Gospel, to baptize, to pray, to heal, and many other things.  However, Jesus also led them to rest.  This above passage seems to suggest that the disciples didn't want to rest, though, since Jesus had to tell them specifically to rest amidst their work.  Indeed, this also happens when they are stressing out in the sea in their boat and Jesus is very calm.  Jesus gives us an example of knowing when to strain and when to rest.

The neat thing about rest, though, is that that's when Jesus reveals very special things to the disciples.  In this example, the disciples go to rest, but then they are confronted with a hungry crowd, where Jesus shows his divinity by breaking bread and fish to feed over five thousand people.  It's an example for us to follow.  Many times, we like to look at our lives as things where as long as we strain ourselves to the greatest possible ways, we will be able to reap tons of rewards from our work.  However, Jesus has shown us time and again that we can receive rewards when we take the time to rest as well.  And, in our culture today, it might seem impossible to take a break.

Now, this break isn't just a time to lounge about and do nothing.  In fact, the sort of rest we are called to do might even seem like stress to some.  Rest is when we stop thinking about all the things around us.  It's when we take time to enjoy the silence, to close our eyes, to sit comfortably.  It's a time when we open our ears and our hearts to God.  When we do this, we can take time to become much more familiar with God.  God will give us our comfort, our relaxation, our calm in the middle of the storm.

Take some time this Lent to meditate and listen to God.