“Come Away and Rest a While”
A Sermon by Rev. Young-Mee Park
First United Methodist Church of Oak Park
July 19, 2009
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 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. And they went away in
the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized
them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he
went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were
like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat.
When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that
whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And
wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces,
and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it
were healed. (Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56)
I have a confession to make. I am a recovering workaholic. Work is the activity I
like to do best and talk about most. I think about my work while driving, falling asleep, or
when others are talking. I work or read during meals. I take work with me to home, in the
evenings, on weekends, even on vacation. Actually I never punch out. I work on the
clock, 24/7, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I prefer to consider myself a hard
worker, but according to Workaholic Anonymous, I am a serious case.
On its website, Workaholic Anonymous suggests that you ask yourself twenty
questions to determine if you are a workaholic.1 If you answered yes to three or more of
their twenty questions, you may be a workaholic. Do you know how many I scored? I am
ashamed to say it, but I scored fourteen.
If you are curious to know the difference between an ordinary hard worker and a
workaholic, please try this simple question.2 This is from a different source – ABC news.
An ordinary hard worker will be on the job, thinking about shopping with friends. A
workaholic will be out shopping with friends, but will be thinking nonstop about work. I
don’t know about you, but I am definitely the latter. Work is what I have in my mind, all
the time. I am a workaholic. I am sharing this with you, so that you can hold me
accountable as I strive to recover from this addiction.
As a workaholic, aware of her situation, aware of her condition, I found our gospel
lesson today particularly appealing, particularly meaningful. There was one verse that
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http://www.workaholics-anonymous.org/page.php?page=knowing
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/TakeControlOfYourLife/story?id=3276416
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jumped out at me at my very first reading. In verse 31, I read, “For many were coming
and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” No, I am not alone! No, you are not
alone! Those of you, who are too busy to pause for a real lunch; parents and children who
drive through a succession of fast-food restaurants between after-school lessons and
sports practices; students, young mothers, or professionals, who munch on vendingmachine fare or gnaw on baby carrots between classes, meetings, or chores; those of you
who feel besieged by activities and responsibilities, you are not alone! They, the disciples,
did not have time even to eat! If asked to take the Workaholic Anonymous test, I am sure
they would have scored much higher than I did. They did not even have time to eat! At
least, I eat, even as I read and e-mail and work!
Our story begins with the disciples returning from their mission trips. Jesus had
sent them out in pairs to extend his work – casting out demons, anointing the sick, calling
people to repentance. In today’s text, they returned and gathered around Jesus. I imagine
that they needed some time to debrief and plan for the next step. Yet, people saw them
coming and the word got around. From surrounding towns, people came out, on foot, or
running. They were people in great need, hungry and sick. Hearing that Jesus and his
disciples were in the area, they hurried to them. They did not want to miss out on the
opportunity. What a touching scene! What a heart-breaking, and yet, rewarding scene!
Finally people were responding to their ministry!
If I were Jesus, I would have given each of my disciples a nice pat on the shoulder
and said, “OK. Now, go back to work!” But that is not what Jesus did. In verse 31, we
hear him say, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."
At first hearing, it seems that there is nothing special in these words. A little
surprising for those of us who are workaholics, but what is more natural than a welldeserved break after an arduous mission trip? An easy instruction to obey and follow,
isn’t it? “Come away and rest a while” seems to be a piece of cake compared to Jesus’
other commandment: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and
take up their cross and follow me (Mark 8:34)”; “Sell all that you own and distribute the
money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me (Luke
18:22)”; or, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27).”
However, I am not sure if this is such a simple and easy to follow instruction. I
think that in these simple words, Jesus reminds us of one of the most important, one of
the most fundamental, and yet, one of the most difficult commandments to keep and obey.
For sure, this instruction is counter cultural, so different from the dominant values of this
world, at least in this part of the world. We are taught to be always on the move, to prove
ourselves and achieve more, or just to survive. For many of us, it is almost like our
second nature. Some cultural conditioning certainly comes into play.
Yet, at the same time, I think that we also need to consider some theological issues.
Often, we say, and I say, that church is a place where we give and serve, that our faith is
about doing something. Yes, we, the Christians, are the givers and doers, and service is
an important aspect of the purpose of the church. I think that this is a great virtue, one
that the church today needs to continue to encourage.
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However, I think that there is also a risk when the church puts great emphasis on
its mission to give and serve single-mindedly, one-sidedly, without realizing its own
needs to receive.
Let me explain myself. While it may be more blessed to give than to receive, I
think that it is often easier to give than to receive. Giving puts a person in a position of
power. When we give, we often say to ourselves, “I am not a person in need. You are. I
have gifts, talents, skills, resources to give.” To act from that position is not only to be
wealthy in a certain sense but also to be powerful. To act from that position is to blind
ourselves to our own needs – for grace, for healing, for change, for God. To act from that
position and to understand and present ourselves always or primarily as givers is to
distort our relationship with God and with our fellow human beings.
Please do not get me wrong. I am not saying that giving is not a noble act. It is. I
am not saying that serving is not the church’s important mission. It is. What I am saying
is that those who would be givers must also be receivers. We cannot be instruments of
God’s grace for others, if we do not receive God’s grace for ourselves. Apart from this,
our ministry will be presumptuous. Apart from this, our act of giving will be a power trip.
Our giving is in response to having received. We love because God loved us first.
No, we are not just givers. We are receivers who give. We do not rely on ourselves for
our mission. It is the deep experience of God’s grace that funds and fuels our common
ministry. This self-understanding is essential to who we are as Christians. Our spirituality
is determined not only by our giving but also, and especially, by our receiving. That is
why worship is so central in our life as a community of faith. That is why the discipline
of praying and studying is so important in our lives as believers. That is why Christian
faith is simply not all doing and talking, but also being and dwelling in the peace at the
heart of God. Unless we are renewed, unless we are restored, unless we are re-created in
God’s grace again and again, we cannot truly give, we cannot truly serve.
"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while," says Jesus.
May we all respond to this invitation right now, right here, by laying down at Jesus’ feet
the heavy burden of being in charge and continuing to run on our own strength and our
own energy! May we all respond to this invitation right now, right here, by recommitting
ourselves to the spiritual discipline of receiving! May we all respond to this invitation
with the time and the space to bask in God’s grace! Let all receivers, who are also givers,
respond with a resounding Amen!
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