Daily Gospel Reflection for February 3, 2018

Today's Gospel: Mark 6:30-34 If you’re an introvert like me, the idea of going “to a deserted place” so that you can “rest a while” sounds absolutely lovely. Introverts, by definition, recharge by being alone. Thus, it is not difficult for me to imagine how exhausted Jesus must have become during His ministry. Once word of his miracles got around, people followed him, reached out for His cloak, and begged Him to heal their loved ones. I’m not a miracle worker, but sometimes I feel like this, too. It’s like everyone wants a little piece of me. My elderly father needs my help, a friend needs someone to listen, my students have a million questions, my classmates in my doctorate program need me to do my share of the project, and my writing friends want help with writing, marketing, and networking. While I love feeling needed, there are days I just want to run off on a boat with Jesus and get away forever! But I can’t run away forever—and neither does Jesus in this passage. As soon as His boat lands, He is swamped by a vast crowd, and He tends to them because He sees that they are like “sheep without a shepherd.” Does Jesus’s tending to them mean I always have to tend to everyone else’s needs every moment of the day? No. Notice that Jesus and disciples do spend time alone on the boat. We can’t run away from our obligations any more than Jesus could run from His ministry. However, we can seek out small times to rest, reflect, and recharge—even if they are just short journeys “on the boat” from one task to the next.

Ponder:

How can I build quiet “boat moments” into my day today? Can I make these quiet moments part of my regular routine?

Pray:

Lord, help me to find moments in my day to rest in you so that I may recharge and be ready to do Your will again when it is time for me to “step off the boat” and get back to work.

Copyright 2018 Amy Cattapan A.J. Cattapan is an award-winning author, speaker, and middle school English teacher. Her debut novel, Angelhood, has been an Amazon bestseller in Christian teen fiction and won multiple awards. Her second novel, Seven Riddles to Nowhere, has also won multiple awards and tells the story of a boy trying to save his Catholic school from closing. Follow her at www.ajcattapan.com. Receive CatholicMom.com newsletters in your inbox, including the Daily Gospel Reflection each morning! * indicates required