The Wasted Trip

Scripture Passage that Caught my attention today: Mark 8:10-13 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. 11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

Observation: This appears to have been a wasted boat trip.

Application: Most of us have had a wasted trip here or there. We go to the grocery store without our shopping list. We take our car to the mechanic and it stops making the very noise that necessitated the service call in the first place. We rush to a government office of some kind to pick up a form of some kind only to find out that the office is closed for lunch. We sigh…sometimes deeply.

In Jesus’ case it was even worse on two accounts:

First, both the trip to and the trip from Dalmanutha required significant physical effort. They didn’t just hop in a car with an automatic transmission or even fire up the Evenrude 150 and leave a nice wide wake as their tracks. I’ve been on the sea of Galilee and, although one can see the other side, the disciples were still stuck with row, row, row your boat. Scripture doesn’t detail it, but I would imagine they sighed too.

Second, Jesus was presumably there to help people—to proclaim good news at the very least. Instead, all he got were questions…demands…tests… Clearly it was frustrating. I’m not quite sure what to make of it theologically, but it’s interesting that Jesus refuses to enter into their little make-shift trial; he will give them no sign. Period.

Of course, for those who have read the rest of story, things don’t get much better with his own disciples in the boat! They can’t seem to figure Jesus out either, to the point that Jesus fires off not one or two but rather EIGHT semi-rhetorical questions of frustration, the last of which asks quite emphatically, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:14-21)!

Anyhow, back to the trip...the wasted trip. It happens. One can have a wasted trip, a wasted effort, perhaps even a wasted season of life. At times in life we can pour our hearts out in service, quietly go above and beyond the call of duty time and time again and still find ourselves completely unappreciated by a few or even by many.

Perhaps these are the times when we can take but another cue from Jesus—sigh if you must, but then find a way to move on.

Chalk it up as but 4 measly verses from a much larger story—something Mark says from onset is the “GOOD news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, you had your moments, didn’t you? So do we. Thanks for your example, fortitude and indeed your presence which carries us on. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Numbers 28-29 and Mark 8)