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The Pauses that Renew and Refresh

Aware of the need for those pauses that renew and refresh, Jesus called his partners in ministry to come away with him to a deserted place and rest awhile. This invitation is reminiscent of a similar one extended by the author of Psalm 46 to hi embattled contemporaries: “Pause awhile and know that I am God.” Scholars suggest that this psalm was given voice during the troubled years between the fall of the northern kingdom and the conquest of Judah. Sensitive to the political unrest that his brothers and sisters in the faith were experiencing, the psalmist summoned them to find their center in God and renew themselves in the power of the divine presence rather than lost themselves amid the surrounding conflict. Because ministry can sometimes cause the minister to become
confused and conflicted, the invitation of Jesus remains a standing one to which every believer must frequently respond.
Although his disciples had withdrawn for a much-needed rest with him, it is significant that Jesus did not send away the crowds when they followed after them. Rather, his compassion for those who sought him out and his willingness to tend to their hungers, both spiritual and physical, called forth the shepherd’s love in him.
In Mark’s Koine Greek, the word for compassion here is esplagchinisthe, a term derived from splagna, which means “gut” or “entrails.” Splagna is also the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rahim, or “womb," from which the word rahamim, “compassion,” is derived. Given these terms, it is clear that Jesus was empathetic toward and personally invested in the people he had come to lead. That moved him to want to care for them in every way.
As is reflected in this Gospel, Jesus’ compassion moved him to teach the crowds. Having struggled under the leadership of unworthy kings, and having been burdened by those whose interpretations of the law were more legal than loving or logical, the people were in need of the loving ministrations of Jesus. He did not wish to
dominate or to force his will upon others. Rather, he led them to understand what is good and just and true by being a living exemplar of those virtues. He taught them without opening his mouth, and when he did begin to speak, he reflected the very wisdom and mercy of God.
As Bonnie Bowman Thurston has noted, Jesus’ example offers both encouragement and a challenge to his followers (Preaching Mark, Fortress Press, Minneapolis: 2002). He took time to rest in solitude before he taught those who gathered around him. Solitude and rest are not “extras.” They constitute the very environment within which the minister and the ministry can grow. Although extended periods of solitude and rest may not be
possible, each of us is able to punctuate our days with many, many pauses in which to be still and know and rest in the God who is the heart and center of all we are and all we do.

Patricia Sanchez
Celebration, July 19, 2009

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