Mk 6:30-34
30The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. 31He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. 32So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. 33People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.
34When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Come away to a deserted place and rest a while: What is your idea of rest? Sitting lazily on a swivel chair with your feet up on the desk, smoking a cigar, and giving orders? Or is it sleeping and snoring all day? Doing nothing gets to be tiring after a while.
So what is real rest?
First, it is doing what we love and enjoy doing. Mothers enjoy cooking for their kids and will never tire of it. Fathers are re-energized watching their kids after work. It is the love and joy we put into our work that makes work look like rest. Second, to rest is to pray. Only after we have done our work can we lay ourselves down and then tell the Lord to do his share. Third, to rest is to let others rest. Watching a sleeping child breathe or listening to a peaceful snore is rest for those who care.
The world will turn without you. So come and rest a while in the Lord.
Sheep without a Shepherd: Sheep depend on the shepherd for direction, nourishment, and protection. Disaster and death await the shepherdless flock. That is why Moses, before his death, asks the Lord to appoint a leader to take his place so that the Israelites wandering in the wilderness to the Promised Land would not be “like sheep without a shepherd” (Nm 27:17). Because he possesses the heart of a good shepherd, Jesus attends to the needs of the people who are like sheep without a shepherd.