16th Sunday of Ordinary Time - July 17, 2021

 This past week, I celebrated two funerals, one a mom who was only 65 and the other a wife and daughter who was only 41.  I also sat with an inmate as we watched the funeral DVD of his 40 year old son.  And I was struck by this Gospel pericope…come away to a deserted place and rest a while….

Not directed at me…but rather directed at all of us…all of us who claim the call of being Christian in the world today…come away to a deserted place and rest a while…
One can almost imagine all the stories those early disciples wanted to share with Jesus and with each other after their first taste of ministry.  The amazing people they met, the healing that they were able to bring by just listening, the hope they shared in a God who was present with them in the joys and the sorrows.  And the amazing thing is that Jesus says, come…come away…tell me all about it…tell me what you saw, what you did…tell me the challenges….

You see my friends there is an awesome prayer at we share at the beginning of the funeral liturgy that says:  We believe that all the ties of friendship and affection which knit us together as one throughout our lives does not unravel with death.  Trusting that God always remembers the good we have done, and forgives us all our sin, let us gather to pray…
The question struck me….i wonder when the end of this life comes, and we meet our creator, I wonder what stories we will want to tell?
I wonder what stories Rhonda, Kirsten and Caleb told the creator when they made the transition from this life to life eternal?
I actually can imagine being greeted by our God, with the invitation, come away and rest awhile….tell me all about your life and its adventures, the joys, the sorrows, the disappointments and the triumphs…
I wonder what we will share…
Remember the prayer:  God always remembers the good that we have done and forgives us all our sin…
In some ways, I think the minute we begin to tell God about those things we think we failed to do, or the things we did wrong, or the faults about ourselves we discovered…God will look at us and say…I don’t remember any of that...but I do remember the time you anointed that annoying driver on 110 who cut you off and you whispered a prayer for them…did you know their mom had just died and they were not even thinking about their driving that day.
Let’s be honest with each other, we are much more in tune with our faults, character defects and failings than we are with our
giftedness
our holiness
and our goodness.
Lest anyone doubt….just take a performance review from work….your employer may tell you a 5 things at which you are excelling…5 things you are doing that are amazing and 1 thing which they have seen you could work on improving….what do we remember when we walk out the door?  Most often….not the five…it’s the one…
I take great comfort in a God who will remind us of our 5 and forget about our one.
I can only imagine meeting our Creator, and she gives me a big old hug like mom used to give…and she will look into my eyes and say…so let me tell you about some of the amazing things I saw you do…..
And God will continue…I remember that day you showed up to work, all upset about your ….actually I have forgotten what you were all upset about, but you were way wacked out, and your co-worker asked if you if they could talk with you and you took the time to listen to them.  Do you realize your co-worker has never forgotten that day?
And do you remember when you baked those cookies that one time, when you were feeling down and you had no money, and you went and gave six of the cookies to the next door neighbor…I know you didn’t realize it, but they were broke too and that was all they had to eat that day, and they never forgot it.

Or do you remember the time, you were at home, the kids were going crazy with school work, your stress load was over the top because you were trying to do too much….and then your phone rang and it was…oh heck I can’t remember, your sister, your brother in law, your cousin…someone…and you hit the answer button anyway…they needed your anointing that day  and you gave it to them in abundance…you see I do remember…
The list can go on…and on…

There is something to be said…about going away for a while…yet sometimes, that going away is only a few seconds, or a few minutes on our drive home, or the few minute escape to the bathroom, or folding laundry…where God can refresh our souls…
I often think we think going away with God and resting a while has to be some formal retreat, and while those are good and needed, we can also create mini retreats…where God can work at reminding us of our goodness.
It kind of gives that command of our gospel today an entirely new meaning:
Come away, to a deserted place and rest a while…