5th
Sunday in Ordinary Time B
I’m tired…I need some rest…I’m
burning the candle at both ends…I’m worn out…I need to get
away…does anyone really care…does God care?
I would imagine that if I shared these
statements with all who are reading this, the universal response
would be, I know exactly what you are talking about…I’ve been
there.’ Sooner or later, it seems that each person arrives at a
point where their life has become too big to handle, or at least it
seems that way. When this happens the operative word is STOP…we
have lost our perspective…but it can be regained.
The readings today show that wandering
all over…being lost…being too busy to do things…being asked and
asked over and over again to ‘lend a hand’ can be exhausting.
And I am in the middle of all this busyness.
- From the mouth of Job, “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery…I have been assigned months of misery…The night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn…I shall not see happiness again…”
- Paul tells of all the projects he continually takes on, “I have become all things to all, to save at least some.” How many continually take on project’s that are very ambitious and time consuming?
- Mark describes a busy day in the life of Jesus: ministry in the synagogue of Capernaum…healing of Peter’s mother-in-law…they brought to Him ALL who were ill and He cured them. Then Jesus went off to pray and He heard, “Everyone is looking for you.” He knows what our life is about. Where does help come from?
Gary Egeberg in The Pocket Guide to
Prayer says, “I read in a
newspaper article that most of us are not getting sufficient rest
these days. Whether you are just beginning to establish yourself in
the world or have been around for a while, you may long for more rest
than you are currently experiencing. If you are a parent—single or
married—and have children who are very young, about to be launched
from the family nest, or somewhere in between, you probably have
become intimately acquainted with exhaustion. Because we have so
much going on each day, because we are pulled in so many directions
and have a multitude of responsibilities to fulfill at home and at
work, our whole person—body, mind, emotions, and spirit—suffers
from a lack of wholeness due to insufficient rest.”
So how can ‘I reclaim my life?’
How can I love myself; which is a command from Jesus? Working hard
is necessary in each of our lives. Each person knows that success
just doesn’t fall down from the heavens. And living life does take
a toll on each person. Not getting enough rest is one way our energy
is sapped…there are so many others: grief, loneliness, personal
problems, concerns about loved ones, fears of hurts and violence,
feelings of helpless and powerlessness. What does one do?
Jesus went off to pray because He
realized the batteries had to be replenished. But the people found
Him and He had to put off this time to be with the Lord…but He did
find time to be with the Lord. In my last year in St. Bernard’s
Seminary, Bishop Fulton Sheen became the bishop of Rochester, NY. He
came to the seminary regularly and taught us Homiletics (preaching).
He said, “Every day of my life I have spent an hour alone with the
Lord…I need it.” How could he do this with such an enormous
schedule…he just did it. It was a reminder to me that I have to
TAKE TIME…and SPEND TIME with the LORD…and let the LORD be with
me in a big time way. I know this and I just have to insert it into
my life…I struggle with this…but I continually have to make it a
priority.
Gary Egeberg spends a chapter on
Resting in God. He opens up with a quote from Julian of
Norwich, “The best prayer is to
rest in the goodness of God, knowing that that goodness can reach
right down to our lowest depths of need.” How very true
that is!!
Then He says, “We
Need to Rest in God When:
- We feel overwhelmed…
- We feel exhausted
- We feel consumed with worries, fears, or remorse
- We feel anxious
- We feel crabby, irritable, angry, and frustrated.
- We feel bored or restless.
One of the most beautiful passages in
Matthew is where Jesus invites us to STOP our activities, lay down
the loads we are carrying let God help each of us because He loves
each of us…””Come to me, all
you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest.” (Mt
11:28)
I
think one of the questions that comes up with me is How am I ever
going to slow down…How do I stop saying YES to so many…How can I
spend time with the Lord and let the Lord do the doing?
Gary
Egebery gives Ten Ways to
Prayerfully Rest in and with God:
- “When feeling overwhelmed, it can be helpful to write down all that is going on in your life and share this list with God in prayer.
- Lie down with a pillow under your head and a couple pillows under your knees (which flattens your lower back). Place your list from suggestions #1 on your chest, and allow God to hold it—and you—for a while.
- Write down one or two things that are especially difficult or draining for you on a slip of paper and place it in your Bible next to a favorite scripture passage or in a God box or God can.
- Pray an affirmation over and over. Let the bed you lie on or the chair you sit on symbolize how God is holding and supporting you.
- Pray Reinhold Niebuhr’s ‘Serenity Prayer’: ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
- Hold something that has spiritual significance for you as a reminder that God is holding you.
- Go for a walk and talk with God.
- Spend some time in nature observing the natural world.
- Enjoy someone else’s artwork or create your own.
- Play
The point is that I do not ask God
enough for things and I don’t thank Him enough for His blessings.
AND He loves me that much…So I need REMINDERS…These help me…I
offer them as helps.
Sacred Space 2015 says, “Jesus,
this Gospel portrays a very busy day in Your life. My days, as You
know, can be busy, too. But You find time to pray, and I must try to
do the same. You bless the time I give to prayer, and my life
becomes more fruitful.”
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