Winter of Weariness

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,

and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint.

Weariness. Can anyone here today identify with that ? It is late winter, the economy is in real trouble, our two parishes are struggling with financial issues…weariness abounds. And this part of the reading from Isaiah doesn't say " Don't be weary !". Instead, it acknowledges the human condition – this fatigue of living – and says "trust in Godde."

In the reading from Paul's letter to the community at Corinth, he speaks of how he keeps going. If anyone had a right to be weary it was Paul. He truly did need to be "all things to all people," to accomplish what he had set to do. He knew how to be a Jew when he preached to the Jewish community. And he know that the observance of Jewish law was meaningless to the Gentiles. But what drove him was his commitment to share the Gospel – the Good News. Paul in today's world would be attending Nascar races and having a beer in the local pub. It was important to him to be where the people gathered.

Mark tells of the beginnings of Jesus' ministry - earlier in this chapter, Jesus calls the first of the disciples and now he is headed for the home of Simon Peter. Simon's mother-in-law is ill and he heals her to the extent that she can offer the hospitality that she would be ashamed not to be able to offer. The healing isn't proof that as soon as you can drag yourself from your sick bed you are to back to work…it is just proof that she was truly healed.

Jesus heals many other people, and then slips off in the early morning to have a chat with Godde. Spiritual refreshment is the point here…even Jesus needs to reconnect with the Source to avoid this weariness.

There is a thread running through these three readings. Spiritual weariness affected the people of Israel and it affects us. The reassurance here is that Godde recognizes weariness in Godde's people. It isn't a sin…it is the human condition and we are made fully human. The refreshment of spirit comes from the Lord. In Isaiah's prophecy, the Lord is and ground of our being and lifts us up. In Paul's letter, the reason for going on is that the Good News is to be shared with everyone. And, as Jesus' ministry unfolds, he reaches out beyond Capernaum, but first seeks rest in Godde's presence.

It is a weary time…..the mucky, muddy, icy time of late winter and in a time of major rethinking who we are as a nation of consumers. And this weariness is timely if we use it to quietly reconnect with who we are as individuals, and as a faith community. Stripped of our bravado and manufactured enthusiasm, it is time to rest in the Lord and support one another on our journeys.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,

and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint.