Then Get in the Boat

This past election was one of the ugliest of my adult life. It seems no one was sincerely interested in debate, only insults and lots of talking over one another. My heart sank as it all unfolded.

Still, I have the right to vote, a right won with toil and bloodshed, and I would exercise it. I did the best I could to choose a candidate most in-line with Church teaching and like any good American, even though I live on a dead-end street, I put out a lawn sign in support of my choice.

Within a few days, it was stolen. I had anticipated this might happen, so I had some extras stashed in my garage. I marched out to the front of my yard with another and staked it deep in the turf where the last sign had been. And when that one was stolen, I marched out with yet another. And so it went. The tedium in this petty theft was exhausting, and so disappointing. When did our country become so low and crass?

There’s something exceptionally liberating in Saint Mark’s Gospel story today when Jesus “sighed from the depth of his spirit” (8:12). The Pharisees, petty and constantly posturing, were looking for a sign from Jesus to test Him. Their constant wrangling, trying to catch Him in an error, or make Him look bad, must have been wearing. They weren’t interested in sincere dialogue, and Jesus knew it.

So, He sighs, deep and from the depth of His Heart, and asks, without sincerely expecting an answer, “Why does this generation seek a sign?”

But it’s what He does next I take note of: He got in a boat and went on with His ministry.

And that’s what I need to do too; have my deep-spirited sigh and then get on about the work the Lord has given me, no matter who’s in office, no matter a pandemic, economic collapse, or the petty larceny taking place in my front yard.

Jesus, let me get in the boat with You and get busy building up Your Kingdom.

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What do you need to do today to get about the work the Lord has given to you?