Daily Gospel Reflection for February 9, 2019

Today's Gospel: Mark 6:30-34 In today’s Gospel reading I am reminded once again of Christ’s ability to see and know everything! The apostles have been tirelessly instructing and aiding great multitudes of people. They are excited to share their work with Him. When they do, Jesus does more than listen. He sees and feels their weariness. He knows what they need. So, He instructs them to leave this place of active ministering and go to a quiet secluded place to rest and recharge their batteries. I can only imagine how happy they were to comply. Then, reaching their destination and seeing the crowd already gathering, I am sure they all felt some disappointment. I guess in today’s world we call it a "working vacation." And then, Christ takes over preaching for them. He sees, as St. John so aptly describes, “sheep without a shepherd”. He works while they rest. How thankful they must have felt! They gave over to Christ their exhaustion, sitting among the crowd, allowing Him to just take over. Life is busy and messy and hard. If a job has to be done, many of us feel we are the only ones who can do it correctly. And we repeat the cycle day in and day out until we become overloaded and exhausted, both in body and spirit. We forget what the Apostles knew. Christ is in charge! He shepherds us all through the messiness of life, through the chaos of our pain, and calms our worries. We only need to give it up. Come to the Lord, surrender, and let Him take over. Only then can we truly rest.

Ponder:

Do I trust God to always give me what I need, to be my shepherd through life, even when I am scared and worried about the future?

Pray:

Lord, grant me humility in all things so I can better surrender to You. Gently remind me when I am weary, scared, and lonely to just come to You, trust in You, and rest. Amen