And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest awhile, for many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves." (Mk 6:31f)

Jesus suggests to his disciples that they get away for a while and rest. A vacation? Well, probably not, not quite the way we mean that, but close.

Taking well-earned, well-deserved vacations is so much a part of American life, especially during the summer, that we do it, or at least feel we should, without much anguish or guilt. A brief, paid vacation doesn't seem to need much justification - but that is vacation from work, from our jobs and probably only that.

What really does need justification, permission, is this very odd thing going on in this morning's Gospel? taking a break from taking care of others, stopping doing good for a bit. Time off from meeting the needs of others. And who is doing that, and saying we should too? Jesus Christ of all people!

You probably are at best a little iffy about taking a little respite from all the goodness and care and compassion you offer others in your life - iffy if not actually horrified. But it is not simply a nutty and irresponsible suggestion. Our Lord is saying that you need to do it from time to time.

Today's Gospel reveals our Lord saying, you just have to do it, you have to take breaks from time to time, regardless of whether people appreciate it or understand, regardless of whether you yourself approve or feel comfortable or deserving enough to do it.

And many people, especially those who normally depend on you, won't think you should - take a break. And indeed, there is another Scriptural passage very similar to this morning's passage, but from an earlier part of Mark's Gospel:

After Jesus cured Simon Peter's mother in law, "they brought to him all who were sick - the whole city gathered around the door. In the morning while it was still dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him "The people are looking for you everywhere!" (Mk 1:36f)

Jesus this morning is doing something here that we don't think anyone has the right to do, something St. Peter himself didn't think Jesus should be doing and said so - this taking a break, a time away, time off - really, genuinely, off.

I am not suggesting, as our Lord did not, that you selfishly and cavalierly wave off all your real and genuine responsibilities with a casual calling over your shoulder, "Ah well, off to a lonely place apart - see you someday."

Today's Gospel is not suggesting irresponsibility, but is also not encouraging, or allowing, over-commitment to the point of burn-out and resentment. We have to admit that our burn-out threshold, our threshold for exhaustion, is no higher that our Lord's. You are not more committed, more steadfast, more invaluable, more essential, than Jesus? And he needed to get away from people and from his caring for them and doing such wonderful things for them.

Importantly, we need to realize that this time away is not simply some self-indulgent, arrogant "I deserve it" insistence on our imagined entitlements. This time away, apart, this time off, is a very special time, a time that should be a time away for rest, for renewal, for enough quiet and leisure to ask and answer again and afresh: "Who is God for me and who am I for him?" "What is it like to share with each other our experiences of God and our hopes and dreams for God's people?" "Why do I do the things I do, the wonderful things as well as the more embarrassing things, what is the point of it all, the good as well as the bad?"

The time away, in the place apart, the withdrawal to a lonely place, is not the only time or place where we pay attention to God's plans for us, not the only time we respond to God, try to grow in intimacy with God, and to live out the consequences of our relationship with God and with others, but it is a fine, time-tested one for special focus from time to time. A special time for that careful and thorough look at our lives and our relationship with God.. We need time and space and freedom from distraction, we need a sense of being set apart, away from the ordinary and the usual, even if that ordinary and usual is wonderful. We need a break even from what is good and fulfilling and rewarding and of real use to others and to ourselves? to have time and space to address very deep and real and critically important concerns and aspects of our life and loving and caring and serving.

Yes, we do worry that this time might well seem to others and to ourselves, silly and selfish, opposed to concern for others and effective action in regard to social justice and social service. yes, it may well seem to be a kind of introspection, a turning inward, and a turning away that is self-centered, self-absorbed, selfish.

But evidently it does not seem so to our Lord. And if we are exactingly honest, we might find we have to admit that such time in prayer and quiet and rest and refreshment may well just be less self-absorbed than most of our day-to-day life is!

The lonely place gives us the chance to put into context the real life we lead and want to lead and what parts we can and should and might change.

A time apart, a lonely place, is neither selfish nor frivolous - it is something our Lord indicated was a necessary, a vital part of following him faithfully.

Sometimes you leave the crowds on the shore of the sea and paddle away. Sometimes you leave the throng in the church, or step aside from the busy, demanding, family, or the taxing schedule and routine, and take care of yourself, take care of the person God created and loves and wants to preserve as a healthy, happy, content, serene, committed Christians, and that, it seems - seems clearly enough - involves sometimes taking a break.

However you do it, you must do it, however you feel about it you must do it - I do not know exactly what you yourself must do (how could I?) but I do know (how could I not?) that you need to listen to our Lord when he calls to you - you there on the shore: "Come apart for awhile, come away, and pray."