United Methodist Church Hyde Park, NY

THREE CHAIRS (KEEPING LIFE IN BALANCE)
Mark 1:29-39

The first frame in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip shows Calvin walking with a box of eggs in his arms, his tiger Hobbes right behind him.

“You’re going to juggle eggs?” Hobbes asks.

“It’s a metaphor for life, Hobbes,” replies Calvin.

Holding five eggs in his hands, he explains: “Each egg represents one of life’s concerns and the goal is to give each the appropriate amount of individual attention while simultaneously watching and guiding all the others.”

As he tosses the five eggs in the air, he continues: “Life is about balance and staying quick and alert as everything threatens to spin out of control!”

In the last frame broken eggs are everywhere as Hobbes comments: “And sometimes we make a big mess of things.” “But the important thing is persistence,” counters Calvin, holding up five more eggs.

I think we all know a thing or two about juggling life’s demands. Right at the beginning of his gospel, Mark tells us that Jesus did, too.

The Sabbath day described in this morning’s text began with Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum teaching and exorcising an unclean spirit. He then went to Simon and Andrew’s house, probably to enjoy a quiet meal with friends, but he soon learned that Simon’s mother-in-law had a fever. Of course, he healed her. That evening all who were sick or possessed with demons were brought to him. There was such a crowd at the door that it seemed the whole city was there. Jesus cured the sick and cast out many demons. Very early the next morning, while it was still dark, he got up and went to a deserted place and prayed. Realizing he was gone, the disciples hunted for him; and when they found him they told him that everyone was searching for him. Having had this time alone in prayer, Jesus was refreshed, renewed, and ready to go and give and get on with his work. So off they went.

It had been, no doubt, a typical day in the life of Jesus, a day of juggling the demands of his ministry, the pleasures of being with friends, and the need for solitude and prayer. It was a day in which we can clearly see how Jesus kept his life balanced.

Many years later and a continent away, a famous man also sought balance in his life. Nineteenth-century American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher Henry David Thoreau is renowned as a literary hermit because of what he did in the spring of 1845. He picked a spot by Walden Pond, two miles from Concord, Massachusetts, on land owned by his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson. With Emerson’s permission he chopped down some pines, hewed the timbers, and with the help of friends fashioned a small cabin.

On July 4th, which he declared his personal Independence Day, Thoreau moved in. From the outset the move gave him profound satisfaction, providing him with time to ponder, time to meet his simple needs, and, most valuable, time to write. He stayed for two years. His stay at Walden Pond proved to be his most productive period.

Still, he was not the literary hermit that tradition has painted him. Many a day he walked to Concord. He also entertained many guests. In fact, in his book, Walden, he titled a chapter “Visitors.” In it he wrote the quote at the top of our bulletin: “I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude; two for friendship; three for society.” A wisely balanced approach to living, I would say.

As we read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, we see that he, too, understood the need for balance. There was time spent in society: preaching to the crowds, healing the sick, teaching, feeding, shepherding the multitudes that came to him for help. There was time spent in the company of friends: his twelve disciples, the family of Simon, the siblings Martha, Mary and Lazarus. And there was time spent in solitary prayer, meditation, rest, renewal. These times of solitude, friendship, and society Jesus kept in careful balance.

We, too, need that kind of balance in our lives. We’ve become accustomed to devoting a great deal of time to work and all the other demands of a modern society that pushes us to fill every moment with activity. We take time to enjoy the company of friends. But we have a lot more trouble making time for physical rest, for spiritual renewal, for solitary prayer.

Well, don’t worry. The demands of work, home, school, and community will always be waiting for you, just as they were for Jesus. It doesn’t take long for people to find you and place assignments before you and expect you to work miracles.

When his disciples were overwhelmed – so much traveling, constantly working, tending to their duties, meeting the needs of others – Jesus said to them: “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” He invites us – no, he urges us – to do the same. It’s the only way to keep from becoming unbalanced.

Returning from the quiet place, you’ll find yourself full of serenity, strangely stronger, and ready to roll up your sleeves and do good work. You’ll get the job done, whether it’s healing or high-tech hardware repair. And after your time alone with God, you’ll probably do it patiently and peacefully.