Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21 / Mark 6:30-34
The need for rest and recreation seemed to be like a missing element in our lives.
In our fast-paced society, we can even feel guilty about having some rest and recreation when everyone seems so busy. Taking leave and going for a holiday would sound so selfish and inconsiderate.
We may have become so used to busyness and hurried lives that we forget about the necessity of rest and recreation.
But rest and recreation is not about doing nothing and sleeping our time away.
It is about a quiet time for prayer and to refocus our hearts on God.
In the gospel, when the disciples came back from their mission and reported what they had done, the response of Jesus was for them to go to a lonely place and rest.
Because the temptation to do more and more especially with success after success can make people lose focus and perspective.
We have to realize that success cannot be created by our own hands.
It is God who will give success to the work of our hands.
Only when we are rested in the hands of God in prayer will our work bear fruits that last. Otherwise our busyness is just an occupied emptiness.