Then He Went Home

Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home; Mark 3:7-19

In today's Gospel we see Jesus appointing his twelve apostles. He had done much healing and is being pursued by ever growing crowds. The disciples readied a boat to prevent the crowd from crushing Jesus. Once he appointed his disciples, giving them out to proclaim and cast out demons, he went home. Even Jesus needed a break from the press of responsibility, from the press of the crowd and from the lack of privacy and space we all need. He was exhausted and returned to his home probably in Nazareth, to rest and refresh, turning everything over to his disciples. In these days, when war is waging in his homeland and surrounding countries, may we remember that even Jesus got tired and needed time and space to rest and heal.

Gracious Creator, you place us in homes

small and large, bustling and so quiet

so that we might be restored for the days ahead.

We have watched bombs hit their targets

and leaders proclaim great victories

yet there are innocent victims everywhere.

Help us to take the time we need to rest

so that we might have the strength to love

and to be safe home to those aching today. Amen.