Never Alone

"So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. " - Mark 6:32-33

As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Las Vegas, and have just finished attending a conference in my field. And if you've ever been to Las Vegas, you'll remember the constant onslaught against your senses - hot, dry weather, loud music, scores of people, the smell of food and the intensely bright, flashing lights. I was remarking to a former colleague of mine that I need to go hide in my hotel room for awhile, just to relax and get away from the busyness that is Las Vegas.

And while Jerusalem at the beginning of the first millennium wasn't quite the same, I'm sure the apostles were feeling quite overwhelmed. Yes, they had been doing this for a while (by themselves), but I get the sense that the number of people coming to see them now is much more than what they had been dealing with at the start. After all, people didn't know who Jesus was, what he's done or what his message is. But once word started going around, the number of people who wanted to see him and the apostles no doubt grew exponentially.

So after their long trip, some alone time might have been nice. The people following them (and later, running ahead of them!) had other plans...

But the apostles have something now that they didn't during their mission - Jesus himself. And they must have taken comfort and strength in knowing that Jesus was there, would take point, and relieve their burden a bit. It's a luxury that they have now, and probably missed greatly after his ascension.

So while the crowds swelled, while the demands grew, the team of apostles lead by Jesus were ready to go, to preach, and share the awesome message of love and hope.

And it's the same message we hear today.