Daily Gospel Reflection

It’s Time to Withdraw

I'm Matthew Kelly. Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where we are exploring the genius of today's gospel. Remember, we're looking for a word, a phrase, or an idea that allows us to take the gospel and apply it to our lives in some small way or large way today. Today's Gospel is from Mark, chapter 3, verses 7 through 12. Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed. Also from Judea and Jerusalem, and Edom, and from beyond the Jordan, and from about Tyra and Sidon, a great multitude.

Hearing all that he did came to him, and he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they should crush him, for he had healed so many so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. And wherever the unclean spirits beheld him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. So the people are everywhere. There's masses of crowds, and they're all pressing up against Jesus, the disciples concerned they're going to crush Him. But people, they realize His power. They realize just by touching Him that they can be healed. So imagine you're walking around in public and people are just touching you all the time. I don't know. That make me anxious. That would make me freaked me out a bit. But that's what Jesus was experiencing every day. But he had this calm. He just had this calm wherever he went. And he invites us into that calm. We have to ask ourselves, "But where did the calm come from? How did he foster the calm? What was the source of the calm?" And we find that in the word I picked today. Second word in the reading, Jesus withdrew. The world's gone mad. You know that? I know that. Jesus withdrew. He stepped back from the world. He went to quiet places. He withdrew from the crowds. He withdrew from the insanity. And today, his invitation to you is to withdraw. And it might be a physical withdrawal. You might need to find a quiet room and close the door. You might need to withdraw into your local church or chapel, adoration chapel, might need to withdraw and spend some quiet time there. But other possibilities to live this gospel, I think you might need to withdraw from your cell phone. Yeah, I know.

It's a radical idea, but you might need to withdraw from your cell phone because a lot of the insanity of the world, a lot of the craziness, a lot of the confusion of this world comes to us into our hearts, minds, and souls through that little device we carry around with us almost all the time. So today, my challenge to you is to withdraw from your cell phone. I think if you do, you will find the peace, the solace, the clarity that Jesus found from withdrawing from the crowds. Withdraw from your cell phone today. Give yourself a challenge. How long can you do it for? 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour, a whole evening? I don't know. Give yourself a challenge. Withdraw from your cell phone. And the virtue of today, peace. Jesus says, "Peace, I leave you. My peace, I give you." Peace. It's the last time you rested in the peace of God. It's the last time you rested in the peace Jesus wants to fill your life with, fill your family with, fill your home with. Is your home a peaceful place? If it isn't, what do you need to do to bring that about? God bless you. Have an amazing day. Remember, don't just be yourself. Be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be.