On the Back Porch
Reading, pondering and studying God’s Word is sometimes best done “on the back porch.” Each week we will try to offer something for you and your “back porch time.”
16th Sunday, Year B
What We Celebrate
At the conclusion of their mission to the Galilean villages the disciples returned to Jesus. He had commissioned them to be his emissaries. Jesus invited them to a deserted/wilderness place to rest and enjoy the quiet. Jesus was conscious of the efforts that the apostle’s mission entailed and knew that it was important to recover their strength. However, It seems as though Jesus and the apostles have attracted a large crowd of people.
Whatever Jesus’ plan for himself and the apostles to have time apart and alone in order to rest and renew, the people have other ideas, hungering within for something more – even if they could not name the hunger. Perhaps they too needed rest.
There is a lot going on in this gospel. Take a moment “on the back porch” and find out more about this amazing Gospel.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary
Christ preaching to the Apostles, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1381| Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena | Public Domain US
Rest | Sabbath
On page one of the Bible, God orders a beautiful world out of chaotic darkness within a sequence of six days. And on the seventh day, God rests. This introduces the major biblical theme of patterns of seven that conclude with God and humans resting together as partners. In this video, explore the theme of seventh day rest and the biblical concept of Sabbath. We also look at why Jesus adopted this idea as a major part of his own mission to bring God’s Kingdom to earth.