Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. (Mark 6:31)

The disciples had just returned from their mission and were depleted. Jesus knew they needed to regain their strength. Mark’s comment on the fact that they had not had an opportunity to eat reminds me of the story of the prophet Elijah, when he was fleeing for his life, afraid of Jezebel: He lay down and fell asleep under the solitary broom tree, but suddenly a messenger touched him and said, “Get up and eat!” (1 Kings 19:5)

Lent is coming soon, and it is coming right into our own lives’ circumstances. It is coming into the noise and the chaos of family life, of parish life, of work life. We will be invited to enter the desert, into the wilderness, the place with vipers and dangers. It is the place where Jesus faced the tempter, and it is there He will face him, in us, again.

But before we go to the desert, we are invited to rest in a deserted place, by ourselves. He is calling us to sit under our “solitary broom tree.” It is there that we come face to face with our weaknesses, our limits, and our fears. It is there where we lay it all out and say, “Enough, Lord!” The place where we finally come to accept that we cannot do this on our own. In humility, in truth, we surrender all and rest. We leave the rest to God.

And what does God do? He knows we need nourishment, so He gives Himself to us. In the Eucharist, he feeds us, he strengthens us. Emmanuel, God is with us.

Let us pray:

Lord, help me hear your voice.