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In today’s Gospel, Jesus models the most important thing we can do for ourselves as leaders of the church. He models self-care.
We are only into the first chapter of Mark and, as we have already been seeing throughout this Season after the Epiphany, Jesus has been very busy. In today’s reading, He does what we all should and need to do in an active ministry: He takes time to find somewhere He can be on His own to, as we hear in Mark, pray. What Jesus is really doing is taking time to be present with the Father.
One of the things I have continually learned in the hardest ways imaginable is that I need a break. That break isn’t just about resting though. It is about recharging. We can all do that by being present with God, especially when we are doing His work in the world. We have to take that time, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly to allow ourselves to be with our Lord, to be in conversation and relationship with Him.
This is not just true for clergy. This is true for all of us, especially those in leadership positions in the church. But again, this is not just limited to them. We all serve God in this world. We all need a break. We all need time to let God in.We all need time on our own to foster our relationship with God. We have seen that need now during this pandemic, and all the events leading up to it, more than ever.
Unfortunately, the world will not always allow us the time to deepen our relationship with God. We see this in the Gospel today as the Disciples seek Jesus out to bring Him back in. We see this in how the world, or perhaps even those around us, refuse to give us this time of much needed rest and recharge in the Lord.
To counteract the work of the world, I would call upon you to do two things. First, take the time you need daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly to get away from in all and be with the Lord. This time for Retreat is seen as something necessary for clergy. We should start to see it as necessary for all Christians too. Certainly if you are a leader in the church, whether on vestry, a committee, a lay reader, or outreach volunteer, you need to make sure you are taking the time you need to deepen your relationship with God, however that looks and however that works best for you. If you need help with that, there are a lot of examples provided on my blog in Christian Formation at therevtreysthoughts.blogspot.com
Second, make sure your leaders are and can take the time to rest in the Lord. Make sure you give that time to whoever your next priest is as well. I’m not saying you need to constantly check-in on them to make sure they are partaking in this self-care. Doing so is often less than helpful. What I am saying is make sure you create the time and culture for your leaders, lay and ordained, to take the opportunity to be alone with God to recharge and grow. Support your leaders, don’t continually pile work on them until there is nothing left to give. Most of all, thank your leaders for their service to God and this church.
Jesus shows the importance of self-care, particularly in modeling taking time to pray and be with God. The world doesn’t want us to have that time. Don’t be like the world. Give your leaders and give yourselves the space needed to deepen all of our relationships with God.