Mark 6:45-47 RSV
A Spiritual Necessity
“…he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them,
he went up into the hills to pray. And when evening came…he was alone.” Mark 6: 45-47
Several years ago there was a cartoon in which a teenager encounters a breakdown in his ear buds. Not being able to hear the music, he falls to the ground in a panic. The main character in the strip then says this poor youth is suffering from a “loss of stimulation syndrome.”
We do live in an age of continuous stimulation. The cell phone and computer make it possible for us to have something grabbing our attention every moment of the day, and it appears that we have become addicted to the experience. Go into any restaurant today and note the number of people who are sitting at a table together and not conversing, but rather tapping away on their phones and that is only one example. Additionally, we have been sold the idea that we can multi-task despite the clear evidence of neuroscience that the human brain can’t perform more than one focused task at a time. So, we are encouraged to continually keep in contact through electronic media and do multiple activities at the same time.
Contrast this with Jesus’s life where we have multiple examples of him withdrawing from the stimulation of the crowds and going off to be alone and quietly encounter God through prayer. This behavior has interested me since he was a person of great compassion, and I wondered as a youth how he could go off by himself and stop working with those who needed his healing powers. It seemed to me like a doctor who says, “Well, it’s five o’clock so the office is closed. See you tomorrow”.
As an adult I have come to understand Jesus’ action as a truly necessary part of living. We need time to charge the batteries. We need down time, time alone and for our spiritual health, time to sit in the presence of God through meditation and prayer. Today though we are threatened by a society that no longer values such time. Instead we are encouraged to never “be still and know that I am God”. The price we pay is becoming evident in our loss of moral values, the increased use of drugs to keep us going, and the failure of so many primary relationships in life. As the hymn reminds us, “take time to be holy, speak oft with your God.” The message has never been more needed.
Prayer: Lord help me to set aside time for me to simply be in your presence, listening for your guidance. Amen
Reflection question: When will I make time in my life for mediation and prayer?
Reflections 