Mark 6:30-34 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost Sunday, July 21, 2024 “A Compassionate Shepherd’s Heart”
“It’s been a long day.” You know the phrase, right? Technically speaking, what you have to do doesn’t actually change the length of the day at all. But sometimes it can feel that way. The long days are those days that are full of stuff: emotional strain, physical work, effort, stress. The long days leave us feeling done. We’re tired, we’re exhausted. All we want is to rest, relax, and maybe get something to eat and some sleep. Suppose you find yourself at the end of one of those long days. Maybe you are getting home late from work, or you could fill in details from your own personal situation. Then suppose someone asks you for a favor. “I need a ride from the airport.” “Can you help me move a piece of furniture?” “I need to borrow some money.” “Can you visit me in the hospital?” The specific request isn’t necessarily important, but how do you react? Not just what do you do, but how do you feel in that moment? I am not asking what you would want to do. Don’t tell me what you should do. Think about how you feel in that moment. That doesn’t look so great, does it? You want to help a friend. You would be happy to do it. Any other day. Not now, not in this mood, not after the long day that you have been dealing with. And sometimes, it is even worse than that. We get angry that someone would make demands of us at a time like this. And let’s face it, sometimes, we feel that way even when it hasn’t been a long day. Even when we don’t have an excuse for it, there are still times when we would just rather do our own thing. What a difference we find between hearts like ours that can so easily be cold and uncaring and the compassionate heart of Jesus Christ. Today’s Gospel is just a few verses long, but it is rich with demonstrations of the compassionate heart of our Shepherd. Our verses began with the disciples telling Jesus about their experiences. If you recall, Jesus had sent them out in pairs with authority to drive out demons and with a message that people should repent. After those mission trips, the disciples were reporting in. They had stories about demons defeated and people repenting. They probably had some stories about people slamming the door in their faces, too. The disciples had experienced some long days. The compassionate heart of Jesus wanted to give them a chance to rest. The work of sharing the Gospel is extremely rewarding, but it can also be very tiring. God himself at the very beginning had established for people, even in a perfect world, a useful pattern of work and rest. It was time for the disciples to be refreshed. It was time for them to spend time just with Jesus instead of with the crowds. It was time to recover from activities so they could prepare for their next opportunities to work for the Lord. They could only find that sort of rest by traveling to a secluded place. They needed to get away from the crowds. So many people were coming that the disciples didn’t even have a chance to eat. They had no way to refresh themselves as long as that continued. So in the boat they went, and across the lake they sailed to find their quiet place. Jesus was helping his disciples because he was their compassionate Shepherd. They needed some quiet pastures, so they set off to find them. But they didn’t really find them. The people saw the disciples trying to get away, and they wanted to see more from Jesus. They were ready to hear more. They wanted to see more miracles and hear more teaching with authority. They ran ahead and were able to arrive before the disciples and Jesus landed their boat. How’s that for the end of a long day? All this time the disciples have been trying to have their debrief with Jesus. All this time they are eager to eat and to rest. And just as the opportunity is about to come, the crowd snatches that chance away from them again. You have an idea what they felt like, don’t you? Sure, the disciples wanted to help people. They had been thrilled when they went out driving out demons and sharing God’s Word with people. But this was the end of a long day! They weren’t up for more people. They were trying to get away. I’m not sure the best way to describe how they would have felt. Frustration? Anger? Annoyance? Some measure or combination of all of these?