Now when it was evening, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over..."
-- Matthew 14:15
The disciples are tired. They have served as crowd control, screeners, healer-helpers, etc. all day long and into the evening. They are worn out and the sun has set.
Then they realize they are in a desolate place.
What does the word desolate conjure into your mind?
Desolate can speak to location. The drive from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles comes to mind - plenty of desolation, broken up by the occasional wind farm.
There is a sadder, and darker, version of desolation though. It is not a desolation of locale, but a desolation of the heart. We can at times be surrounded by crowds and yet feel desolately alone.
Desolation of the soul robs us of vitality. (I realize I am trying to extract too much from a simple narrative statement in scripture, but indulge me for a moment; I'll try to rein it in.) The disciples begin to sense the desolation surrounding them. By the way, this after a day of miracles witnessed. Finally they decide, "... the day is now over."
Forgive my triteness, but the day is not over until Jesus says it's over. There is a miraculous feast yet to take place; one that people will talk about for millennia to come. Oh... and water-walking.
No, the day is not over. And no place is desolate when Jesus is there. Look a few verses above. It was Jesus who withdrew to the desolate place. The news of his friend John's death had come to him. He wanted to get away. But people came. People living lives of desolation.
My guess is that none in the crowd left that place feeling it was desolate. Jesus brought life to desolation. He brings light to darkness... love to emptiness... healing to brokenness... hope to hopelessness.
Jesus never leaves people in desolation. He may allow the temporary desert sands to blow in our eyes, but always with purpose. The empty ocean torrent may threaten to capsize us, but in perfect timing he comes walking across the waves.
The day is NOT over...
God, be present in my desolation.
For now...
D
