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Return of the Twelve
Mark 6:30-32
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
Return of the Twelve
This is the second time in Mark's gospel that the disciples are too busy even to eat (the other reference is 3:20). It was time to get away and rest, but when they reached the place a crowd was waiting for them. The speed of Mark's gospel is unrelenting. Mark's source was Peter, who had always been at the centre of the action himself; so this is a special glimpse into the Twelve's first hectic experience of pastoral work.
It is interesting that Jesus did not insist on the day-off they had planned. Instead ‘he set himself to teach them (the crowd) at some length.’ The needs of the crowd came first; he was not forming the Twelve into an élite whose needs took precedence over everything. They were running the risk of burn-out, but it must be a risk worth running. It was a sad development when ‘the Church’ came to mean the clergy. This unfortunate usage is heard much less often now, but it is still in evidence: not so much in language as in attitude and reality.
Donagh O’Shea.
This is the Story of Jesus drawn from the four Evangelists
Gospel passages accompanied by a number of brief commentaries
