Friday, July 20, 2018

The Sheep Keep Coming (Reflections on Pentecost 9, Year B)

Image result for Images of Jesus healing the sick
"Jesus Healing the Sick' Chris Gollon, British (1953-2017)

“He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” (Mark 6:31)

Freakin’ Andy was back today. I thought I’d seen the last of this guy. He’s a local character who comes by the church every once in a while looking for a hand-out. I don’t mean to sound heartless, but I keep trying to remind Andy that we’re not his personal ATM, and he might be able to save a good deal of cash himself if he’d give up the cigarettes which run almost nine bucks a pack in Philly. Also, this congregation—like just about every small Protestant church in Philly—is running on “E” and is held together financially with Scotch tape and dental floss! We don’t have a safe with unlimited cash for every panhandler in the Northeast. We don’t even have a petty cash box or food vouchers, and the pastor doesn’t have unlimited time to listen to the sob story of everyone who comes along trying to bum a few bucks off of him.

What do you do with a guy like Andy who won’t take “We have no money or grocery script” for an answer?

What would Jesus do?

I gave the guy the six dollars I had in my pocket and let him pillage the cart of donated food we have set aside for the local Lutheran food cupboard called Feast of Justice. He asked if we had any tuna fish, so I gave him two cans which the wife of my bosom sent with me to make my lunch. I also gave him some juice boxes from the VBS, a few bottles of water, and a plastic take-out container so he could mix some tuna and mayo for a sandwich. What was I supposed to do, let the guy starve?

It never ends. The need is always there. The doorbell rings and there’s the local sad sack. The phone rings, and it’s the shut-in lady telling you her woes. There are sermons to write and bulletins to edit and old folks to be visited.

Sorry. I don’t mean to complain. Really I don’t. But I really get why Jesus, in the gospel lesson for Pentecost 9 (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56) wanted to take the twelve with him to a deserted place after they had done so much ministry. Everyone needs a break at times. Unfortunately, most of us don’t even know what that is. Jesus isn’t taking them to a place of amusement. They aren’t going to Disneyland or to the Jersey Shore or even to a day spa.

No. They’re going to a deserted place—a place in the wilderness with no distractions. They are going to a place where they can be alone with Jesus and where he can speak to their tired spirits (v. 32). Sometimes, you know, we just have to be alone with our own souls. We have to find that place where we can talk to God and figure out who we are. We need to find the place where we can face the truth about ourselves honestly without the distractions of our constant “doing.”

I never forgot a sermon I heard in a Lutheran church in Huston over forty years ago. The pastor said that the trouble with Americans is that we worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship. Think about that.

Our Gospel lesson, alas, doesn’t say that Jesus and the twelve got much of a spiritual retreat. The needs of the world kept crowding in like paparazzi around the latest rock star. Fortunately for us, the compassion of Jesus for the constant bleating of the lost sheep (guys like Andy) is limitless.

Like I always do, I ask myself, “Who am I in this story?” Am I one of the disciples who’s wearied by doing mission? Or, rather, am I one of the sick who is reaching out to Jesus in need of healing? Truth be told, I think I’m one of the later. I may never have the time or the patience or even the maturity to really come face-to-face with my relationship with Jesus, but I’m reaching out for the hem of his garment all the same. And I believe that will be enough.

I hope you all find rest for your souls, my friends. Thanks for reading.

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