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Saint Paul
Monday, March 18, 2024

Receive to give

Father Joseph Gifford
iStock/LightFieldStudios

“He 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. … When 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” (Mk 6:31, 34).

Jesus recognizes the deepest needs of the human condition, which in this passage elicited out of him two tremendous actions. He looked at his disciples and recognized their need for rest, leisure and rejuvenation after having spent themselves ministering to the people of God. Thus, he calls them to come with him to a deserted place and rest. However, for most of us, I am sure that a place akin to a desert is not necessarily a place that we might find rejuvenating. But Christ knows us better than we know ourselves. Instead of saying, “Please come and enjoy a feast with me, with lavish food and entertainment,” he says, “come to a deserted place and rest.” The only meaningful thing to do in a deserted place is to pray.

Christ calls his disciples to do this because he knows that the only way that we are truly rejuvenated is when we drink from the fountain of life, when we spend time with God, the source of our joy. Thus, when Christ calls his disciples to rest in a deserted place, he is calling them to rest in the presence of their life and joy, to rest in the heavenly Father. Only once we have found rest here can we receive life and be filled to fulfill our vocations. We are called to live God’s life in the world, but this is only possible when we have first received it in a place of rest.

But Christ does not stop in the resting and receiving. He knows that that is our ultimate end, that resting in and receiving God is what will fulfill us for eternity. But he also recognizes that we are not there yet, that while on this earth, we still need to give of ourselves. We see Christ moved with pity for the vast crowd. This very human reaction is our clue that Christ understands and sympathizes with our deepest human needs, and that he does not desire for us to stay in need. Instead, he desires to fulfill our needs on the deepest level.

Thus, he takes the energy that he received while resting with his disciples in the Father and utilizes it to give of himself to the longing crowd. He saw their thirst for guidance, and he gave them the same guidance that he received from the Father. He saw their desire to be loved, and he gave them the love that he received from the Father. He saw their longing for truth, and he gave them the truth of who he is and what he came to do for them.

Rest in God. Receive his love and give that love to others.

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Father Gifford is parochial administrator of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul.


Sunday, July 18?
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 


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