RETREAT AND REST

HOMILY OF THE 16TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME Year B. 18th July, 2021.

Readings:

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Ephesians 2:13-18

Mark 6:30-34

Theme: The Need for spiritual retreat and rest in the life of a Christian.

 

The three readings of today invite us to reflect deeply on the need for spiritual retreat and rest as christians.

In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah points to the messiah's careful attention to every member of the human race. God's care for each one of us came to it's climax in the person of Jesus Christ. This care is made visible in today's Gospel reading. Jesus invited his disciples to rest a while after the missionary work he sent them. A moment of retreat and rest.

"Retreat" is  a military term used in the battle fields when soldiers having been beaten by their enemies and seeking survival so as to live and fight again, take the best option normally to withdraw to their  base. There they rest, reorganize, reinforce, readjust, get renewed, refreshed and resucitated.  At the base too, reasons for their defeat are addressed and new strategy is put in place.

In our life as christians, the world around us is a battlefield. Inside the battlefield there are lots of dangers both seen and unseen. We can survive this dangerous battlefield by following the instructions of Jesus Christ which is "come away by yourselves to a desert place and rest a while" It is a call for regular spiritual retreat and rest for all christains. We seriously need some moments of spiritual recollection, retreat, rest , visit to the Blessed Sacrament and meditative prayer as Christians.

The reason for this spiritual retreat in the gospel is "that there were so many people coming and going at that time that the apostles had no time to eat". For this reason they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. This is because one can spend too much time in the activities of people and thus gradually loose the vision of God. We cannot be so much preoccupied with the work of God to the point that we forget the God of the work.

However, our spiritual retreat or rest should also not be an excuse not to respond to necessary emergency that may come up during our retreat or resting time. As Jesus and his disciples embarked on their retreat and rest, Jesus saw the vast crowd. In this crowd he saw their hearts yearnings and pains. Naturally they would have been very annoyed because  their private time for retreat and rest have been encroached by the crowd. Instead, Jesus's heart was moved with pity for the people  for " they were like sheep without a shepherd" They were really in dear need of direction and care. Jesus and his disciples forgot their intended retreat and rest and started attending to the people.

Like Jesus and his disciples, let us learn to work and to rest. Let us not be like the snail that goes blind during it's hibernation (resting period) even to the point of denying itself of some essential activities like eating and even excreting. Jesus teaches us that the need of others should come before our own. On many occasions we have to forget our retreat or rest for the good of others who are expecting care and attention from us. We must learn to strike a  balance between our retreat/rest and our working time. Good scale of preference is indeed necessary in the life of every christains especially with regard to time management. We should not forget the fact that the obligation to rest is not something absolute because our spiritual welfare and that of our neighbors should come before bodily wellbeing. 

Therefore, the time spent recovering physical energies should not cause the soul to become sick and paralyzed. We should be also be moved by the plight of the suffering people around us. The duty of every christain is to be sensitive to the suffering of the needy and do our best with our resources to help and to make others comfortable even to the point of discomforting ourselves.

© Rev. Fr. Remigius Onyedikachi Okonkwo SMMM.