Can you remember a time when you were tested or discouraged? Did you persevere? Or give up?
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Today we celebrate the life of someone who never gave up.
According to tradition, Saint Apollinaris was sent by Peter himself to become the first bishop of Ravenna, a town in northern Italy.
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Apollinaris was so “successful” in preaching the Gospel that the locals beat him up, threw him out of town, and warned him never to return.
Undeterred, Apollinaris came back a second time. And a third.
This time, he was tossed on a ship to Greece, beaten and bloody, sternly warned not to return.
But Apollinaris returned to Ravenna a fourth – and final – time where he was martyred for our faith.
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Over the course of his ministry, he must’ve felt discouraged from time to time; he was only human. But he never gave up.
Thank God he didn’t.
To this day, some 2,000 years later, Ravenna is a staunchly Catholic town, thanks in no small part to Apollinaris.
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Imagine how different our world might look if every Christian lived with that same determination to spread the Gospel.
Let that change begin with us.
What would it look like for me to be a little more determined to live out my faith? Would I speak more publicly about it? Drop an unhealthy habit? Or live more generously?
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May the same Spirit that inspired Apollinaris, inspire us today.
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Image credits: (1) The Importance of Determination, Strategic Leaders Academy (2) Cruise118.com (3) EWTN.
When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them. They exclaimed, “What have we done! Why, we have released Israel from our service!” So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiers six hundred first-class chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all. So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaoh that he pursued the children of Israel even while they were marching away in triumph. The Egyptians, then, pursued them; Pharaoh’s whole army, his horses, chariots and charioteers, caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
Pharaoh was already near when the children of Israel looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the LORD. And they complained to Moses, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.” But Moses answered the people, “Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today. These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea, split the sea in two, that the children of Israel may pass through it on dry land. But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate that they will go in after them. Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and charioteers. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I receive glory through Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers.”
The word of the Lord.
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Imagine waiting 470 years to have a prayer answered.
That’s 171,550 days, or 4.1 million hours, or 24.7 billion seconds of waiting, trusting that God will act.
That’s how long it took – 470 years – for God to answer Israel’s prayer, delivering them out of slavery in Egypt, through the desert, and finally back home to the Promised Land.
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Our first reading this week comes from the Book of Exodus, describing part of this 470-year journey.
Today the Israelites are fleeing Pharoah and his army. Moses raises his staff and parts the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass safely through. The Egyptians, on the other hand, drown in the rushing waters.
But even after God delivers them, the Israelites must another endure forty years in the desert, some 14,600 days of heat, sand, and barely enough food.
Understandably, they grumble against God, saying things like, “Why did you lead us here only to let us die?”
Like some waiting on God to answer a prayer, the Israelites often suffered from a lack of trust.
Still, God delivered them.
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Like the Israelites, have you ever felt like it took God “forever” to answer you?
Perhaps we didn’t wait 470 years, but we waited long enough, until our patience – and maybe our faith – ran dry.
When it feels like God is taking his time to answer us, we must remember two things: first and foremost, God is faithful. He keeps his promises.
But, secondly, God’s timing is not our timing. As it’s written in the Psalms, “In your eyes, a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone; no more than a watch in the night.”
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To all of us who are waiting for the Lord to act, may we ask him for the patience we need to proceed in peace, knowing – in time – he will answer.
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Image credits: (1) God is Faithful – Always, Celebrate Kids (2) Moses by Jeff Brown (3) Becoming the Oil and the Wine
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. 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.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I remember when COVID first reached the shores of America, many thought it would disappear as quickly as it arrived. “Two weeks of nothing,” we thought. “The perfect time to rest.”
What was thought to be a temporary lockdown offered us the opportunity to satisfy needs our culture seems to undervalue: our need for space; reflection; solitude; recreation; and sleep.
Yet sixteen months have come and gone and many Americans are more tired, restless, and bored than they were before the pandemic began. A recent study suggests that sixty-percent of Americans are experiencing some level of pandemic-related insomnia.
Part of that has been driven by an increase in online activity, blurring the lines between our home and the office, including ZOOM calls for hours on end.
Many of us tried seeing the bright-side to snatching two-weeks of rest. But looking back, I’m sure some feel anything but rested, which begs the question, what does it mean to rest?
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Rest doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of activity, but it does mean a break from the stimulation that so often dominates our lives.
It means a break from emails, text messages, social media, voicemails, the news, and work-related demands. It means a break from our need to achieve, to get things done, to squeeze every minute out of the day.
In a word, to “rest” means to unplug.
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How much does technology dominate our lives? Does more time spent in front of a screen increase our overall sense of happiness? Does it do the opposite?
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A few weeks ago, we held our summer CCD program here. Ninety-four kids registered.
It was amazing to see this parish bustling with life. Throughout the morning, you could hear kids walking down the hall, laughing in classrooms, playing outside.
At least one teacher even collected her students’ cell phones every day.
While there may have been a temporary panic – how can I live without my phone!?! – by days end, many were grateful for the time away.
Little did those kids realize just how much they needed to contemplate; to laugh; to see another person face to face and to sink into a real conversation.
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Jesus reminds us that it’s not only okay to unplug; it’s also necessary for our mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health.
Look at the way God modeled his life on earth.
Ninety-percent of his days were spent in Nazareth, a small town in the middle of nowhere.
Even during his brief three-year ministry, Jesus stepped aside, taking time to pray, to sleep, and to rest.
A brisk reading of the Gospels makes it seem like Jesus never stopped, as if he was a workaholic who held a tightly packed schedule, performing miracles, healing the sick, and bringing the dead back to life.
Though he did these things, he also took time to replenish himself.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus is surrounded by people who need him; they’re tired, and hungry, and sick.
But he says to his disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while.”
What makes this particularly difficult for them is the fact that they have just returned from their first missionary journey. In last week’s Gospel, Jesus gave the disciples power to cast out demons and heal the sick.
Now they’ve returned. You can imagine how eager they must’ve been to rush right back out, continuing to do good.
“People need us! How can we stop now?”
But Jesus insists, “Come away with me and rest for a while.”
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Jesus sees people like us, who, if we’re not careful, can make work an idol; who can quickly become overstimulated and burn out. If the disciples are to make it for the long-haul, then they must take time to rest.
They, too, need a life-work balance.
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Some say that this idea of “rest” is what makes us particularly human. While technology keeps us connected, “rest” affords us the time we need to sit around a dinner table unplugged, diving into a meaningful, face-to-face conversation.
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What would it look like for me to rest this week with the Lord or with loved ones? When and how can I unplug?
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If Jesus could take a break from ministry, literally a break from saving the world, then how much more do we need to?
Let the world keep spinning while we nourish ourselves for a while.
Trust me, every email and text message and posting on social media can wait; they’ll be there when we return.
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Image credits: (1) Pet Shop Singapore (2) Andrea Mantegna, The Agony in the Garden (3) Hattiesburg Clinic (4) Ignite4Christ, WordPress
