Today’s gospel is all about service. It opens with Jesus leaving the synagogue going immediately to Simon’s house where he cures Simon’s mother-in-law. Immediately she gets up and begins to serve them. The evening sees Jesus serving again, as crowds of people come to him seeking healing. It must have been a long and tiring day, and all of us know that feeling. The next morning Mark tells us:
“Long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.”
We tend to read this as a break in the pattern of service, Jesus taking time out to pray in order to return to serving refreshed and renewed. On one level that is is true, but the Gospels often have layers of truth. On another level I would suggest that Jesus’ act of taking time to be alone in God’s presence is also an act of service.
It is an act of self-care which allows him to draw the strength from God that he needs to carry on. It’s also an act of service to others, a reminder that part of what it is to be human is to need time to rest and recharge.
When the needs of the people we serve seem to be overwhelming we can feel pressured to keep going regardless of our own needs. Jesus doesn’t wait until every need is met, every person healed, every situation resolved before he takes the time he needs. It seems to me that he doesn’t expect us to do that either and that there is both an invitation and a challenge in that.
Where is Jesus inviting you to take time to pray in the midst of your serving others?