Anyone whose home or work setting seems like Grand Central Station can learn a lot from today’s Gospel. 

Like so many of us, Jesus is in constant demand from people who desperately need his help or just want to talk with him.  They won’t give him a minute’s rest.  By the end of the day, he’s tired and harassed.  After all, He’s human as well as divine. 

Unlike many of us who keep running on empty, Jesus takes care of Himself.  He withdraws to a lonely place to pray and refresh His spirit.  He sends a strong message that even the busiest people must find time for solitude.

Following this powerful example can be challenging.  Very few of us can take off for a weekend retreat.  Some days, it’s tough to find 10 minutes of quiet.  In these circumstances, I recommend a harmless ruse or two.

For example, occasionally I grab a yellow note pad and leave my office, saying I’ll be back in an hour.  Everyone assumes that I’ve gone to a meeting since I spend half my life in meetings.  Instead I go and meditate in silence at our campus church, St. John’s, suppressing the urge to leave before the hour is up.  It takes at least that to come to any sense of peaceful contemplation. 

If you don’t have a church handy, try a walk or go sit in a library – any place that’s quiet where people won’t find you or bother you.  Tell people you have to do an unspecified errand.  And you do.  Your errand is to recapture your relationship with God.

Jesus wants us to “meet” with God.  After all, He took time for it!