points "...He saw a great crowd; and He had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd..." Mark 6:34 Do you remember taffy? It's not very common anymore many sweets are less of a mess, and sweeter, and not as hard on teeth - but it used to be a favorite treat. Warm taffy could str-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-tch into shapes and dimensions impossible for anything else. Or remember silly putty? On one hot summer day, my sister and I tried to stretch a can of silly putty the whole width of the parsonage, and almost made it!
Himself get so stretched that He no longer knew His "right" shape. He saw the way life was pulling His friends and Himself, and took action to go away and rest (Mark 6: 31). Do I know myself, know God's intention for my life, well enough that I can realize when I get "bent out of shape"? Am I willing to do something about it? Second, Jesus could distinguish between the vitally important, the simply urgent, and those things that were expected of Him. It was urgent that He and His disciples came away to rest - but filling the spiritual hunger of the crowds was for our Lord vitally important, and He did so in a way that defied everyone's expectations. At the end of that day, it was urgent that the crowds be sent home, and the disciples get away for rest, but it was vitally important that Jesus renew His Life with the Father - so He sent the disciples off in the boat, said goodbye to the crowds Himself, then spent most of the night in prayer (Mark 6: 45-46). Can I be that clear about those people and things which demand my attention? Can I give myself permission to not live up to everyone's expectations of me, so that I can work on that which is vitally important?
Ever felt like you were being stretched like taffy or silly putty: pulled in different directions, pulled out of shape, your life, maybe even your soul, distorted, contorted? Family pulls you, work pulls you, church pulls you, community groups pull you - and within each of those areas, multiple demands pull you in a variety of directions, all at the same time! Pretty quickly, your life begins to seem unrecognizable. St Mark tells a story about Jesus and His disciples being stretched: the disciples had been away doing the work to which Christ had set them; word had come of the Baptist's murder by Herod; Jesus calls them away to rest, with a boat ride and some quiet time, but on arriving at their destination, they find huge crowds of people, needing Him, then hungry at the end of the day. Talk about stretched! Physical exhaustion, grief, emotional turmoil, spiritual depletion, disappointment of plans disrupted, resentment of others' needs or even their presence - each one of these realities pulls at Jesus' disciples, pulls at you and me, and pulls at Jesus. Honestly, it's a comfort to me to know that Jesus knows what it feels like to be pulled out of shape.
Are you feeling stretched? pulled out of shape? If so, what do you intend to do about it? Do you know what your life is meant to be, who you are, so that you can discern when you're being stretched like taffy? If not, how do you plan to explore the landscape of your own soul, the "undiscovered country" where our Lord meets us? And how then, might you allow God to restore you, renew His image in you, so that others glimpse a beloved friend of the Lord rather than a pawn of the world? Sisters and brothers, pray for me, as I pray for you.
I invite you to sit with that story (Mark 6: 30-52) and listen to what the Spirit has to say to your own soul. For me, it offers a couple of words: first, Jesus didn't let
Your servant in Christ Jesus, Jarrell 4