It is often interesting to me how many times we see something in scripture that replicates a situation we consider as a modern phenomenon. We hear a lot these days about how busy people are, and how difficult it is to disconnect and get some rest. There are lots of studies suggesting people don't get the sleep they need. The Strib is in the middle of a 30-day sleep challenge focusing on the issue. We all need more rest, it seems. Today's Gospel (Mk 6: 30-34) shows us that the problem of needing, and not getting, enough rest isn't something new. Jesus' disciples return from their first missionary journey and tell Jesus what they have done and taught, and He looks at them and says, in essence, "you guys look terrible. You need some rest. Let's take a few days off." We've all had times when that could be said about us, haven't we? But the interesting thing is that Jesus' disciples seem to have as much trouble getting "away from it all" as we do these days. They head off for a deserted place, but the crowd figures out where they are going and, by the time Jesus and the disciples arrive, the crowd is there. Jesus sees them and has pity on them, and starts "to teach them many things." Certainly that means the disciples couldn't leave-- they had to stay with Jesus and help with the crowd. The next thing Mark tells us is that it gets to be late in the day and the crowd needs to be fed, which leads to the feeding of the 5,000-- something in which the disciples actively participate. Just like these days, the disciples need rest, but the demands of their "job" are such that they can't get away. You can keep reading Mark's Gospel and the narrative continues without any mention of the much-needed rest. So what does that tell us? Maybe that there are going to be some times when we're just going to be weary, and that's how it goes. We might have to trust that God will give us the strength that we need to do God's work. Knowing that, perhaps we might remember that it is a good thing to get some rest when we can-- when our schedule permits it-- because to need to get away and rest is a normal, Jesus-sanctioned thing. So, I'm off to take a nap.