A Life of Fulfilment
Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily
Passage: Luke 9:10-17
We read about the enlightenment the disciples experienced when the Lord multiplied the five loaves and the two fish. This story is mentioned in all four gospels and is recounted on numerous dates in the church’s calendar.
Just before the blessing, we read an important encounter between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus sends the disciples out to preach, to heal the sick and to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He tells them not to take anything with them- just go and preach.
They do as the Lord says and they return excited from what they had seen and witnessed in the ministry. And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida (Luke 9:10).
And then we continue into the story of the five loaves and two fish. When the people of Bethsaida knew that Jesus had entered their city but was in a deserted place, they travelled to see Him. Jesus spent the whole day with them healing the sick and preaching about the Kingdom. The day wears away and the miracle follows.
What takes place here is like a sandwich. You have preaching and healing in the beginning, a day full of ministry and high activity. This is followed by the next layer, of more people flocking to Christ and more healing, preaching and ministry.
But in the middle, we find Jesus takes the disciples away privately to a deserted area. This is the meat in the sandwich of this story. Oftentimes, we can forget this vital part. Imagine eating a sandwich that was just bread. No one eats a bread sandwich, there must be something to give it flavour. Our lives become as dull as a bread sandwich if we go from activity to activity. Bread on bread. There’s no meat, no filling.
It is important that we learn to apply this to our spiritual life. After every activity, there needs to be a layer where I spend time with God. I tell Him about all that I have done and He takes me away to a private place. It is a very beneficial spiritual exercise to meet with Christ at the end of each day.
We learn to imitate the disciples that came to Christ at the end of their ministry and told Him all about what they had done. In our evening prayers after we have prayed our formal prayers (e.g. from the book of hours/Agpia) that we tell God about our day. It is good to give God a run-down of all that happened.
“This morning I woke up and everything was okay but then I got frustrated with one of the kids, I could’ve been gentler. I got to work and had that meeting, thank You for giving me the strength and wisdom to navigate through what was so daunting before I entered. By the time I got to lunch, I forgot that I was meant to be fasting, sorry, God.”
Or, “I went to school today and I got my results for a test, thank You for helping me. When I was in the playground with the boys and I guess, I was a bit rough.”
When you give God a run-down of your day, you will quickly see the areas where you give thanks for His providence and guidance, or repent and need change, and then, it is as if God takes you away to a deserted place away from this world and it troubles. From there, I can start with my next job, ministry, or activity. Between each layer of activity, we need to give it substance, we need to have quiet time with Christ.
A newly married woman once told me that her husband has a habit of waking up at 5am to spend time in prayer and reading the Bible. He then starts getting ready for work. When he comes home from work, the first thing he must do is to go his prayer room and spend time with God before anyone else.
After each activity, I make time for the Lord and tell Him about all I have done and He, in turn, takes me to a deserted place away from the world. This provides the context of blessing. This is where we draw near to the Lord.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him – Psalm 145:18.
We draw near to the Lord when we tell Him about all that we have done and that provides blessing and enlightenment to our lives.