Serving in the ministry of the church during a pandemic?!?!
by Robert Krumrey
I’ve been reading the Gospel of Mark over the last few days. Reading and listening on the YouVersion App which is so helpful. I’m always amazed at the person of Jesus as I experience his character over multiple chapters in one sitting. He’s comforting someone one minute, rebuking someone the next. Stopping a storm in the morning, playing with children by mid-afternoon. This shouldn’t surprise me since he is God in human flesh showing us what it means to be fully human, free from sin, and living in complete obedience to God’s commands.
One of the things that kept coming to my attention was his perfect expression of compassion for people and commitment to his mission. This perfection is displayed in many of the stories in Mark, not the least of which is the feeding of the 5000. The set-up for the story is a tired team of disciples who had just poured out everything they had during a mission trip they had been sent on in Mark Chapter 6:7-13. This was an amazing season of ministry that included exorcisms, healings, and newfound belief in the Christ who had come to save them all.
COMPASSION FOR HIS TEAM
While all of this was very exciting, it was also taxing and Jesus could see that. When they return from their trip, we hear Jesus’ response to them in Mark 6:
“ The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”
Jesus could see that his team was tired, they hadn’t eaten, and they needed some down time. He compassionately says to them to “come away” with him in order to rest up. When I saw this anew, I was so struck by Jesus’ tender mercy toward his followers. He cares so deeply for them and for their condition, including their physical condition, and he takes action to meet those very basic needs.
Many of you are feeling the exhaustion of this season. The cause of this is complicated and different for everyone. For some it’s being online for work or school. For others it’s having kids at home 24-7. For others it’s the tumultuous times we find ourselves in because of our current political climate. For many, it’s a combination of some or all of these factors. We find ourselves in survival mode and can barely do anything but limp from one day to the next.
For those of you feeling that deep emotional and physical fatigue, hear the words of Jesus to come away and rest. He cares for you and he sees your needs, even the most basic. Ask him for restoration of all types during this time. You have a Savior who sees you and cares for your every need.
COMMITMENT TO HIS MISSION
There’s more to this story that’s even more unexpected. He takes his team to a desolate place and the accommodations don’t end up so desolate. Their quiet cabin in the woods ends up being a crowd with needs of all types and Jesus responds with compassion for them as well. Again we read in Mark:
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ”
Even though Jesus and his team were exhausted, when Jesus sees the needs of the people before him, he responds again with compassion. He teaches them realizing that they are sheep without a Shepherd. This goes on for three days without much food or water. Here Jesus not only shows his compassion for people, but his commitment to the mission. Not only is he exemplifying his own commitment, but he is calling forth from his team a commitment as well. They are patient with this little detour on their way to rest, but eventually they find themselves at the end of their rope and they approach Jesus:
“And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.””
On the surface, their approach is pragmatic. They feign concern for the people and don’t mention that they themselves are tired and hungry. I’m pretty sure that not so deep down they are concerned for themselves and rightfully so. Jesus is purposely pushing them over the edge of their own strength in order to train them in the use of supernatural resources that are available inside the Kingdom of God. His response to them is classic Jesus the the disciple’s response is unfortunately just as classic:
“But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?””
The disciples are emotionally, and spiritually empty. On top of that they are hangry! They don’t want to seem unspiritual, but they also need some food and rest. Jesus pushes them to keep pressing forward in ministry, but do so in dependence on God like they never had before. You may know the rest of the story, but what happens next is that Jesus takes a few loaves of bread and a few fish and feeds the whole crowd with 12 baskets left over. Those 12 baskets were a very personal reminder that Jesus hadn’t forgotten their needs during this whole detour. His heart of compassion was just as big for them as it was for those who were sheep without a Shepherd that day.
I needed to see this and I think many of you are in need of this encouragement as well. We believe that Jesus is more than capable of meeting the needs of our church membership during this crazy time, including sustaining them in their ongoing mission to make disciples who make disciples. We believe that the Jesus who cared for and trained his disciple making team in Mark 6 is the same Jesus who presides over the ministry of MERCYhouse.
As you receive those email invites to participate in or lead a discipleship group and to serve on a Sunday morning, we know it is tempting to hit the delete button and keep on keeping on in survival mode. We also know that we have access to supernatural resources because we reside in the Kingdom of God. I sincerely believe that when we lean into these opportunities to serve, especially out of our deficit, that God meets us with abundant resources that we would have never experienced had we not moved forward in faith. I know it feels like a few loaves and fishes to feed 1000’s but he’s done it before and he will do it again. Let’s come away with him and experience his compassion for us on a daily basis and rally to his side as he invites us on the mission of making disciples for the good of others and the glory of his namesake.