“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16 (NIV)

As pastors it is very easy to fall into a pattern of belief that we must always be available. That we must be ready to address every need and situation brought to our attention. So, we keep our cell phones on 24/7. We constantly check our email. And we feel that we must provide a good reason for taking vacation, tending to our family, or just simply saying no, especially when doing so means someone we serve has to go without. Recently, I shared with my Session my 2024 vacation and continuing education schedule. One week of vacation, which will be my first week of vacation for 2024, I felt an urgent need to explain why I had to take vacation during that time, considering I would miss Palm Sunday. After leaving the meeting I asked myself why I felt bad about missing that Sunday. I realized it was the result of my need to meet everyone’s expectations, even at the expense of taking needed time away.

As I considered our text, I find that Jesus’ consistent pattern of withdrawing (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12) for time to himself was much more than about prayer. Yes, prayer is essential to our faithfulness and effectiveness and Jesus provides a gleaming witness to this truth. However, I believe this time was also just time alone. Not having to respond to the demands of the people or the expectations of his disciples. Jesus simply needed to be alone, to say no. His stepping away gave him time to breathe and, maybe, just simply take it all in. Maybe his withdrawing better equipped him to carry out his assignment. Jesus was human, as well, after all.

My charge to us today is to remember we will be only as effective in caring for others as we are in caring for ourselves. Jesus has certainly charged us, like Peter, to care for his sheep. But we should never forget we are sheep too, who need to be cared for. Furthermore, if Jesus had to withdraw routinely, certainly those of us called to serve his church, must follow suit. In doing so, don’t feel bad. As a matter of fact, don’t feel compelled to explain. Just do it! Jesus did and in the long run we will be the better for it.