Deserted Places

The New Revised Standard Version Feeding the Five Thousand

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

The New Revised Standard Version Healing the Sick in Gennesaret

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Introduction-The two big questions.

There are essentially two questions that come to each of us in the Christian faith:

How does Jesus see the world?

How does Jesus invite us to see the world?

If those two things get out of alignment, some pretty nasty stuff can come from it.

But if those two visions are aligned, then we’re starting to get in to the good stuff of Christian ministry as a church.

A lucky for us today, our story in Mark’s gospel deals with both questions. 3

Bible Breakdown

Where we’ve been:

Jesus sends out the disciples for a preaching tour.

Don’t take anything with you at all!

Rely on God, and rely on the generosity of others.

The disciples use this freedom to bring healing to those they meet.

They do so good that Herod hears about it, and assumes John’s back from the dead.

Herod we heard last week is in to some pretty undignified stuff.

After John calls him out on it, he listens to his wife and his daughter in law and has John killed.

What this passage leaves out:

We’ve been following the lectionary, which every now and again leaves something out of the middle of a passage.

Sometimes it’s because there’s something in the middle of the passage that’s tough and awkward and they want to spare us preachers, but sometimes something like this happens.

In between the two little chunks we read today are two pretty well known stories:

Feeding the Five Thousand

Walking on Water

These deserve their own Sundays.

These stories are so good, so rich and meaningful, that they should (and eventually will) be their own sermons.

But when we do that, it’s also easy to miss what we read this morning, the kind of background stuff that is rich and meaningful in its own way.

So that’s what we’re going to look at today.

Peaceful Places

When the disciples get back from their journey, Jesus invites them to go away with him.

Just about every translation of the Bible that I’ve read treats this word a little differently.

Eremos- Same root word as Eriene, or peace.

This is a place where you can go to get away from the busyness of life.

This is a place where it’s very unlikely that you are going to be bothered.

This is a place where you are very likely to experience peace.

Wanna get away.

After a long preaching tour (we don’t know how long it was, but to get to all these different towns and villages must have taken some time!) these disciples are probably tired.

Having just come back from the first vacation I’ve been able to take in almost two years, I can certainly appreciate that!

After so much work, so much effort, so much travel, probably a fair share of contention and argument, and some well fought rewards, these guys are ready for a break.

This is the only thing that Jesus says in this passage:

I’ve heard preachers before say something like “If you only hear one thing from me in this sermon let it be this...”

In this situation, Jesus actually literally only says one thing in this story.

Come away to a peaceful place all by yourselves and rest a while.

That’s it!

And that comes with a pretty important task for us:

Pay attention to the invitation!

Is it possible that Jesus is saying that to us today?

Is it possible that through all the busyness of life, Jesus is inviting us to a peaceful place?

Is it possible that after a very taxing pandemic season of life, Jesus is inviting us beside still waters?

Is it possible that instead of adding more to our to-do list, Jesus is actually trying his best to take stuff off?

And the other part of the invitation that’s really important to hear is that Jesus is inviting these disciples to be WITH HIM in this peaceful place.

It’s not just come to the beach so you can kick your feet up on a beach chair.

It’s come to the beach so that you can kick your feet up on a beach chair and hear a refreshing and healing word from Jesus Christ himself.

Some of you in this room need to hear this today:

Jesus is inviting you to set some of the busyness aside, and go to peaceful places with him.

Will you go?

The gang gets interrupted.

Along the way though, people find Jesus and the disciples.

Someone always manages to find us on our way to peaceful places, don’t they?

Some of us will go to outlandish lengths to get away from everything on our vacations:

Out of office replies.

Delete social media off our phones.

Don’t tell anyone we’re leaving and just ditch out in the dead of night!

Compassion- Suffering with

Sheep without a shepherd- An OT Call Back

Numbers 27:17

2 Chronicles 18:16

Judith 11:19

Splanknizomai

First of all, I’m going to say this word as frequently as possible this morning.

Splanknizomai!

It means that this compassion comes from your gut.

It’s not a superficial compassion, and it’s way different than pity.

Compared with Pity- You can’t have compassion at a distance.

Pity is something that you can do from a distance.

I think of the Sarah McLaughlan animal commercials when I think of pity.

They play the sappy music.

They show the slow motion video of sad puppies.

They tug on our heart strings.

And then they ask for a check.

We never actually have to interact with any of the animals.

We are just asked to have pity on them.

Compassion is different.

Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B, Volume 3 Theological Perspective

German is much more direct. The German word for compassion is Mitleid—quite literally, “with-suffering.”

To have compassion is to have interaction with someone.

You cannot have compassion at a distance.

And Jesus was all about compassion!

He was always with people.

And what was Jesus up to with all of that compassion?

Healing AGAIN!

This is getting to be a habit in Mark, isn’t it?

Whether it’s demon possession, however we’ve come to understand that

Or the idea that the kingdom grows like a mustard plant to provide shade for those who need it.

Or the end result of the disciple’s preaching tour to bring about healing from sickness and disease.

Whatever it is, Mark is pointing out to us that Jesus is all about that healing life.

The bigger point: Jesus’ ministry isn’t worth doing if people aren’t being healed.

So much of Christian ministry can become about something else:

How do we get more people in the pews on Sundays?

How can we have more programs to include more kids?

How can we be relevant in a culture that is leaving us behind at an alarming rate?

There’s nothing wrong with those questions, but there is a question that should come first:

Who has been healed as a result of the way we love Jesus?

If Jesus views the world through the lens of compassion, he’s inviting us to do the same.

Who have we had compassion on lately?

Application

What we can learn about Jesus

Jesus is inviting us to the still waters of deserted places

Our world celebrates busyness.

Like sometimes I hear people talk about how busy they are.

They say they’re complaining, but it kind of sounds like bragging, doesn’t it?

Look how much I got done!

Look how many baseball games I’ve driven my kids to!

Look how little time I have for myself!

This is not the Jesus way.

Jesus is inviting us to the still waters of deserted places.

Go find a peaceful place this week.

You can travel, or you can just make one of your very own at home.

Let the list of things to do go.

Let the constant desire to keep up with everyone else go.

Let your guilt and your shame go.

And remember that Jesus is inviting us to those places with him.

Take some time this week to pray.

Not the kind of prayer that asks for things, but the kind of prayer that is content to just be present with Jesus.

Work on your connection with Jesus in those places of rest and peace.

Jesus has compassion on everyone, including us!

Jesus is all about splanknizomai!

To those who suffer, Jesus suffers with.

To those in pain, Jesus joins in their pain.

To those who suffer great guilt, Jesus lifts their burdens.

To those who feel lost, Jesus travels the road with us.

There are annoying people in the world.

It’s important to remember that Jesus has compassion for them.

The person who cut you off in traffic? Splanknizomai!

The person who said that incredibly hurtful thing? Splanknizomai!

The person who holds a different political worldview than you? Splanknizomai!

The person who has wounded you in the past? Splanknizomai!

This doesn’t mean you don’t have to avoid them...

But you know who I think it is absolutely hardest to remember that Jesus has compassion for?

Us.

For all the ways that you are suffering right now, big and small: Splanknizomai.

For all the ways that you might be carrying wounds in life: Splanknizomai.

For all those who have no problem forgiving others but a terrible time forgiving themselves? Splanknizomai.

I told you I was going to say it a lot in this sermon!

But it’s a word worth carrying with us out in to our day to day lives.

That said, it’s not enough that Jesus has compassion for the world.

Jesus is all about healing.

I don’t know what healing you’re looking for right now.

Physical healing?

Emotional healing?

Healing from grief?

Healing from a sense of stuckness?

Sometimes we don’t get the healing we think we want.

We get the healing that Jesus has for us.

Healing is all about moving the story forward.

Healing is all about tomorrow being better than today.

Healing is available and open to all.

Jesus is never content to leave us on the mats and deathbeds that we come to him on.

Jesus wants us to be better people.

We are constantly called to grow, and healing is a substantial part of that growth.

Where do you need to find healing today?

What we can learn about our view of the world: Line it up with Jesus!

We need to take it easy sometimes, and let others do that too.

We need to be a suffering-with kind of people: compassion

We need to be a place of healing.