Not all Sea and Sunshine

Some years ago I worked for a short while for a Christian travel business.  It was an enjoyable time, and one thing I remember from the experience is the frequent use of what was said to be the only Biblical reference to holidays: “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.’” (Mark 6:31, NIV).  Although it’s not in line with what most people these days would consider a holiday, this verse was commonly used when selling retreats at centres that offered a ‘contemplative experience’.

It confirms a need that each of us has from time to time to get away from the busy-ness of our lives, and to make time for refreshment.  We should re-align ourselves regularly with the natural world, listen afresh to God’s word and tune in again to His will in our lives.  Until recently, I had given this no further thought than that, but come with me now to St Mark’s gospel, and let’s re-visit this verse.

 

The disciples had been sent out two by two to preach repentance and to cast out demons (5:7-11).  The narrative is interrupted by the news of the death of John the Baptist, and then we hear of them coming back, filled with excitement, to report their experiences to Jesus.  No doubt there were achievements they wanted to share, but also problems they had encountered, uncertainties upon which they sought guidance.  But the crowds followed them all wherever they went, and it was difficult to get a word in edgeways, let alone some serious quiet time with their Lord.  So there was a definite need to get away by themselves.  It was only for a moment, though, because they were spotted leaving, chased around the lake, and the next thing we read is the familiar story of the feeding of the five thousand (6:35-44).

What does this tell us about holidays, then?  I suggest that the primary lesson is that their aim shouldn’t be to do nothing.  Secondly, there is a question in my mind about who holidays are for: the disciples saw Jesus teaching the crowds (as usual!) instead of spending time with them and, perhaps in frustration, wanted to send them away.  Jesus, however, calls them to a responsibility of care: ‘You give them something to eat’ (6:37).  Perhaps there is wisdom in the old saying ‘a change is as good as a rest’.  Maybe instead of thinking only of pleasing ourselves when we have a break from normal life, we should also consider ways in which we might enrich the life of other(s).  Who knows? – that might be even more enjoyable!

Love is ...

... more than a cartoon strip devised by Kim Casali and drawn by Bill Asprey.

But before I go any further, let me introduce a much-loved little girl, my friend Bethany.  She is just a few weeks short of her first birthday, and she already has a personality that makes her quite recognisable when seen apart from her mum or dad.  When I visited her mother a couple of months after her birth, her grandma was there to lend a hand, as grandmothers are often wont to do.  This was the only time that I had seen that lady, but a few weeks later I was chatting to the proud parents in church when a particular angle of Bethany’s head and her facial expression gave me an instant of recollection of her grandma’s features.  It was a ‘spitting image’ moment.

When was your last spitting image experience?  Or when did someone last observe that you were the very image of your parent?  The answer to these questions may depend on your own age and circumstances, but it’s commonly recognised that our inherited genes include a physical dimension.  That’s an idea that has Biblical precedent too.

Jesus claimed resemblance to his Heavenly Father.  “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,” He said (John 14:9); and one manifestation of this was the way He showed His Father’s love to those around him.  He healed people left, right and centre, raised some from death, and he wept with love along with Mary and the others over Lazarus’ death (John 11:33-36.)  This was how Jesus wanted his followers to behave, too.  In that remarkable illustration of the vine and its branches, He said, “Love each other, as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13.)  And that was, literally, what Jesus did of course, as Paul reported and explained (Rom. 5:6-8.)

As well as his narration of these matters, John was also so impressed by Jesus’ love that he seems to have filled his pastoral letters with it.  In one example, he says that we should show that we’re Jesus’ followers by walking as He did (I John 2:6.)  In effect, he’s reminding us of Jesus’ very words, to pass on to others the love that we have received; and if you are uncertain just what that involves and need Paul’s blueprint, you’ll find it at Romans 12:9-21

So, let’s think back to those ‘spitting images.’  It’s not just the genes that are passed down from one generation to the next that cause them to resemble their parents and grandparents.  If you saw Bethany with her mum and dad, you would instantly realise what a loving and happy family they are.  They enjoy love in their lives, from each other and from their parents and friends; but also from the church where we all worship.  We are privileged to be part of a loving community where Jesus’ command to love one another is fulfilled widely and often.  How about you?  Is there someone to whom you should be showing God’s love – to whom you should appear the spitting image of your heavenly Father?