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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Today we are presented with a very brief passage from Mark's account of the Gospel that seems to be the connective tissue between two separate stories. In the first verse the disciples have returned from their mission to let Jesus know how successful they've been. And only four verses later Jesus sets himself to teach the crowds that have gathered (teaching for which we must wait until next week). 

For me though, the heart of the story is in what Jesus' does with the disciples. In the midst of their success he takes them away to a quiet place. There are crowds, clamouring to hear them and be healed, and yet Jesus teaches the disciples this lesson - that unless they take the time to refresh and reconnect themselves with God, that they will not be able to continue to meet the needs of the crowd. 

There's an old saying that there is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole. In other words, almost everyone resorts to prayer when things are going wrong. But our tendency when things are going well is to just go with the flow. 

This all too brief passage in which nothing much seems to happen is a reminder for me to deliberately make time for prayer in good times too. And to give thanks. 

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