Long Way Home

June14

Read: Mark 6:30-44

Long Way Home

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd…” (v.34)

Ministry is exhausting… even for Jesus. It takes a great deal of energy and effort to engage the world around you and carry out the “good works” God has prepared in advance for you to do. This is why it is so important we develop rhythms of taking a Sabbath and finding times of solitude to be restored. So when the Apostles come back from their time of ministry Jesus calls them to “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (v.30) What happens? These pesky people flash mob Jesus and the disciples… they show up at the “resort” only to find a crowd has already gathered! Turns out running to the location is faster than boating!

This raises an interesting point though. If all these people can rush ahead of them (5000 people! ) and beat them there, it shows us that Jesus did not choose the quickest way to get there. Truth be told, I think Jesus does that on purpose at times… he takes us along the “slow route”… and he is not always concerned with taking the “quickest way” to get some place! This can be quite frustrating at times, right? We ask Jesus why we have not arrived yet, and he calls us to enjoy the ride. We can envision quicker ways to “get someplace” and he calls us to row in the boat with him!

When they finally arrive, they are met by said crowd and look how Jesus responds: “he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd”. There are so many emotions that could swell up in a moment like this. He could have been frustrated that their time of rest had been interrupted, or he could have simply acted as if he was “off the clock” and ignored the crowd. Maybe they were tempted to get back into the boat and row some more because the sea was more restful than the crowd waiting for them. The scriptures don’t tell us how the Apostle’s were feeling in this moment… although they do try to send them away as soon as they can! (LOL) But Jesus, he looks at them with compassion and sees them as sheep without a shepherd. When people seem to “spoil” our plans or continue to be “needy” even after we have given them all we have, let us think of Jesus and have compassion on them realizing that they are “sheep without a shepherd”.

How does Jesus respond to these “sheep”? He begins by “teaching them many things”. (v.34) This is one thing that “sheep” need evidently, it is to be taught. The second thing he does is feed them. How does he do this? Supernaturally through what the apostles had brought with them. This is a crucial piece of the puzzle: Jesus is always only asking you to be willing to use what you have. The way that Jesus works through us is supernaturally multiplying what he has already entrusted to us. You are only responsible for using what has been given to you… God will do the multiplying. Jesus looks at us and says, “you give them something to eat”. (v.37) The proposed solution of the Apostles was to send them away in light of their scarcity… but Jesus had a different plan.

What happened next? “And they all ate and were satisfied.” (v.42) I can FEEL that verse in my soul… that little phrase at the end of this story. They all ate and were satisfied… they were FULL… they had what they needed and then some. This is life in Christ! He works powerfully through our scarcity to bring about “fullness” for everyone involved. When we bring what we have to Jesus and hand it over to him, he “blesses” it, multiplies it, and uses it to feed “the sheep” AND us! In fact, there are even leftovers. (v.43) This is the picture of life in Christ. There is not doubt that the Apostles were tired at the end of that day. There is no doubt that they were hoping for rest but were met by a crowd. There is no doubt that it would have been “easier” and maybe “more efficient” to send them all off… But in the end, they were “satisfied”. They watched Jesus work through what little they brought to the table.

As God’s children and those people who are walking this life with Jesus, we are called to moments of resting with Christ. Be willing to take the “longer , slower route” with Jesus… he may be leading you on this path on purpose. Recognize that there will be times when you feel drained and yet there are still people seeking you who need something from you… these are sheep and you are working with the Good Shepherd Jesus. (cf. John 10:10) All Jesus ever asks of us is to use what we have. We may be tempted to hand people off… send them into the proverbial “neighboring cities”… but Jesus might just tell us: “You feed them”. When we feel like what we have to offer… what we bring to the table is laughably small… we only need to hand it to Jesus and watch him bless it and multiply it. In the end we will be SATISFIED… FULL… with leftovers! DO not be discouraged or afraid, just hop in the boat with Jesus and you will find what you need. Love you guys! - JDP