GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 3:20
To Busy to Eat
I recently read a story about a man who was so involved in his work that he had very little time to rest or eat. We are told that physicians are so pressed for time that they are booking appointments three months out. The owner of a popular restaurant said he only books reservations a month in advance. Wait a minute—we need to take a breath.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, a mechanical engineer by the name of Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) pioneered time and motion studies in American industry. By systematically studying work, he discovered methods by which a greater amount of work could be accomplished with less human effort, which led to the scientific management movement.
While not a subject of Taylor’s scientific studies, Jesus and his disciples were certainly involved in demanding ministry. St. Mark said, “And he came into a house, and the crowd again came together, so that they were not able even to eat a meal.” (Mark 3:20) This is another Markan collapse of time, for according to Matthew and Luke, after Jesus chose his disciples, he sent them on a ministry tour, delivered the Sermon on the Mount, and delivered two miracles before returning to a house in Capernaum. When they arrived back at the house, perhaps Peter’s house where it seems Jesus spent time, a large crowd gathered to hear Jesus teach and receive his ministry, so demanding that they were not able to eat a meal. There was no question about turning the people away, or scheduling them three months in advance; the need had to be met then and there.
This story should not be used to support the practice of skipping meals, but rather to emphasize the urgency of ministry. That same urgency exists today. There’s no place in the Gospels that supports the shirking of responsibilities, but there is much support for accepting ministerial duties—duties that rest upon the shoulders of every citizen of His Kingdom.
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