In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you."
-Mark 1:35-37

I wonder if Jesus was tired.

It was a busy time. Jesus had just called his disciples to be his followers, and they'd gone to Capernaum. He taught in the synagogue. He cast out demons. He visited Simon's house, and healed his mother-in-law. At sunset, they brought to Jesus many people who were sick or possessed. Mark tells us the scene was a crazy one: "the whole city was gathered around the door" (Mark 1:33). To me, it sounds like a commotion, a hectic day, the kind of pace that leaves people reeling. If ever I might have expected the gospel writers to say, "The next morning, Jesus slept 'til noon and enjoyed a nice cupof coffee and the New York Times," this is it.

But Jesus didn't sleep in. While it was still dark, Mark tells us, Jesus got up and went for a walk. He found a place to be alone, and he prayed. In this moment of the gospel, Jesus is -- at least for me -- both an inspiration and a nuisance. An inspiration because -- well, that seems obvious. After a hectic schedule, he's still right on track with his spiritual life. He finds the energy to arise before the sun. He finds the space and the time and the will to pray. He's a nuisance for all the same reasons -- after all, there are mornings when good coffee and the newspaper sound like the better alternative. Maybe that's not what you expect to hear from your pastor, but hey --
we're not so different from the people in the pews. And I've got great coffee at my house.

None of this is to say that Jesus didn't like his coffee, too. (Or wine, in his case; I'm not sure coffee was real big in Jerusalem, circa 30.) The gospels are full of stories of Jesus enjoying a good meal with friends. Such are the blessings of God, and Jesusappreciated them, as we all should.

But Jesus knew what we so easily seem to forget: we need different kinds of rest. We need the rest of hanging out with the people who love us and whom we love. That sort of rest reminds us that we're not alone. We need the rest of crashing in front of a movie or with a good book, just to enjoy a story. That sort of rest feeds our imagination. We need the rest of a good workout -- it strengthens our bodies and our souls, giving us energy for everything else. But we also need the rest of prayer, of meditation, of taking time to reflect on God's grace and presence. It's not that we can't experience God in the midst of other activities. Sometimes the best prayer happens
while walking to class. But we also need to set aside time for our spiritual lives; there's no substitute for that.

Jesus once said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Surely, this is true of money. But it's true of time, too. This is especially important for college students to hear. After all -- many of you don't have lots of money to throw around, and some of you live from loan check to loan check. So it's easy to blow off the challenge of stewardship (in other words -- the challenge of managing our treasure in a way that is faithful to God.) But time is a sort oftreasure, too. Where does your relationship with God fit into your schedule?

When we make time for prayer, for intentionally connecting with God, we find rest, and that is good. But we're also making a choice about what's important to us, about what kind of people we want to be. After all, when we choose to spend time searching for and experiencing God's grace, we can't help but be changed by it. This is the kind ofrest that nourishes us, and gets us ready to go back into the world.

While Jesus was away from the crowds, praying before dawn, Simon and his companions come and find him. And they tell Jesus what he probably already knew: that the people were looking for him. Jesus might have been tempted to tell them to wait. But he didn't. He had done what he needed to do, and he was ready to go back to work. Andso he continued with his ministry.

Of course, being a Christian doesn't mean being a doormat. When someone jumps, you don't have to ask how high. And there will be times that you need to say no, even to a plea for help. But the time that we take to embrace the blessings of Sabbath-keeping is what makes
it possible to reach out and love our neighbors as God intends us to.

When we make a decision to express our faith in how we spend our time, we find it a lot easier to keep that faith. It's not easy, but it'snever too late to start over.

And you can always enjoy that coffee a little later...