Posts Tagged ‘Mark 6:30-32’
And They Told Him All – Br. James Koester
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Br. James Koester,
Superior
I love the Gospel of Mark because of its breathless character. We seem to race from one place or event to another, with little time in between, and less time to catch our breath. In a few short chapters, Mark crams in the whole of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[1]
That breathless quality is displayed in abundance in this morning’s reading as we race around Galilee, following Jesus and the disciples, after the first apostolic mission, when they were sent out two by two, and [given] authority over the unclean spirits.[2]
With so much packed into the reading, the preacher or reader would be forgiven if their attention was drawn to the latter part of the passage, the feeding of the 5000. My attention though is drawn to the beginning, to the regathering of the band of disciples with their leader, following their missionary travels. The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.[3] That is what arrests my attention this morning. I can see this scene perfectly clearly, because I know from experience what that was like Read More
It’s time to Stop – Br. David Vryhof
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Exodus 20:8-11 and Mark 6:30-32
During this season of Lent we Brothers are inviting you to explore with us our relationship to time. We believe time is a gift from God, and that often we abuse that gift by rushing through life, or by overcrowding our days, or by squandering our time on things of lesser importance. We want to imagine with you how we might reorder our relationship with time, so that it may be the gift God intended it to be in our lives. Tonight we’ll be focusing on our need to stop and to slow down. Then, over the next four weeks, we’ll be asking how we can make time to pray, how we can manage our time for work, how we can incorporate play into our days, and how we can take time to love.
Most of us are aware of how the pace of life has quickened. Undoubtedly this has been the case over the whole course of human history, but in the last few centuries, with industrialization and the advancement of technology, the pace of life has increased dramatically. A study done in 2006 showed that the pace at which people moved in large cities had increased by 10% since the early 1990’s. (1) As a result of this quickened pace, many people today are suffering from higher levels of stress and anxiety, from the lack of adequate sleep and physical exercise, and from a constant pressure to produce. Many of us find it difficult to keep up with the demands of modern life. We are constantly in motion, moving from one task to another. We have forgotten how to stop. Read More