By Reverend Stephen Baldwin

OT: Jeremiah 23.1-6

NT: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sometimes you just have enough and need a break. Amen?

In today’s scripture reading, Jesus and the disciples simply needed a break. They had started the week in Nazareth, Jesus’ birthplace, expecting a warm welcome, but instead they were cast aside. By the same people who had raised Jesus. Jesus had planned to stay there longer, so he used the extra time to teach. He trained the disciples in theology and pastoral ministry. Then came the terrible news. John the Baptist had been murdered. Their brother in the faith who had paved the path they were now walking on was dead. And everywhere they went, they were besieged by crowds asking for their help.

So Jesus decided they needed a break. He gathered the disciples and took them away so they could rest and have a good meal or two. Isn’t that good advice for everyone? If you can’t take a break and your body feels like it’s broken, take a break.

Jesus takes them to a secret place. In fact, much of Mark’s story has this emphasis on secrecy. He wants to keep his power secret. But the nature of power, as this story shows, means that it cannot remain secret or silent.

When they arrive at their destination, where they are supposed to find peace, they instead find even more people begging them for help.

It’s a bit like going on vacation nine hours away and waking up one morning to find that your annoying neighbor has rented the house next door. “Are you kidding me?” you might say. How well do you handle interruptions and surprises? If you’re like me, not very well.

I really feel bad for Jesus and the disciples in this story. They just wanted a little break, and the crowd took that away from them. When they saw the crowd waiting when they got to the secret place, I think they said, “Are you kidding me?”

That’s what I found myself saying this week in response to a strange situation in Ronceverte. I wrote about it yesterday, so some of you may have seen the story. If you haven’t, we had a situation where people were using blessing boxes, which are used to distribute food, as a place to leave and pick up drugs. Our Baptist and Methodist brothers and sisters have used the blessing boxes to feed hungry people for years. Out of an abundance of caution and safety, both churches decided to remove the boxes and find new ways to feed the hungry.

Substance abuse is a very real problem in our communities. West Virginia continues to lead the nation in overdose deaths, which have been increasing exponentially since about 2013. I don’t have to tell you all about it, because it has touched all of our families.

Hunger is also a very real issue in our communities. We’ve had teens tell us that they mark the date of our free monthly meals on their calendars to make sure their families can come get meals. We’ve had kids tell us that the snacks they get from the Snacks and Packs program help them get through the weekend at home.

There is a lady… I don’t know her name… but I see her every Sunday night filling up the blessing boxes – all three of them in town. It warms my heart every time I see her do that. She never knows who gets the food or why, and she doesn’t care. She does her part to make sure hungry people are fed.

This is my point about how this situation we find ourselves in relates to today’s text from Mark. Jesus didn’t let an interruption get in the way of his ministry. We don’t let an interruption stop us from feeding the hungry. Jesus doesn’t get mad at the people who ruin his break. We don’t get mad at people who are addicted; we’re going to try to get them the help they need to recover. Jesus works with the disciples and we need to work with all of our neighbors. In a world that often focuses on what divides us, we can still find hope in focusing on our common mission of Jesus to feed the hungry. Jesus doesn’t give up when his hometown rejects him. We don’t give up when we need to find a new path. Jesus reaches out to all who need help and we will do our best to do the same.

Sometimes you just feel like you need a break. Amen? That might be the time when God wants you to dig deep and go the extra mile. Amen? It’s much easier to get angry, judgmental, and hateful toward people. It’s much harder to dig deep and try to help. Jesus leads us on the hard path. Because healing doesn’t come easy. It takes time. It takes spirit. It takes perseverance when you feel like you’re at your limit. Amen.