Mark 6:30-34
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
Reflection
In today’s scripture Jesus went out on a retreat with his disciples by boat. John the Baptist died so they needed to grieve together and comfort one another. The disciples had just finished a mission trip and wanted to talk with Jesus about it, but the crowds of people interrupted their retreat. You’d think that Jesus might set a boundary because he had his own needs to take care of. We can sympathize with the disciples getting irritated with the crowds at this point. But Jesus’ regular patterns of abiding in prayer provided a deep storehouse of grace that he could tap into in times of stress like this. Jesus patiently and generously ministered to the people. We are kidding ourselves if we think we can always get the space we need to be with God. We need to be continually making time for God because we will be
interrupted. Do you sympathize with the disciples? Do you know how it feels to have your personal time with God interrupted? How could increasing your time with God help you build a storehouse of grace?
