The greatest feature of our age and our culture is that in spite of all the advances in technology, life does not seem to be getting any easier. Sure one of our Prime Ministers did pass the chance remark, that life was not meant to be easy but with all our computerisation and modern conveniences people seem to be as busy as ever. No matter how much we seem to do, there is always more to be done, and any time is taken up by this almost insatiable urge to be doing something. It seems that the way of the world is to do more and more with less and less until there is no time left at all.

And it is not just our working life that is at issue. Many of us are trapped into taking holidays in the same way. Filling our recreation time with a hundred and one other things that need to be done in the short space that is available.

Our Gospel reading today points us to the world that Jesus found himself in. His ability to heal gained him notoriety and so the sick crowded him out. It is the simple rule - that if you are successful in providing a ministry, then you will be overwhelmed with the response. The days would crowd in upon Jesus and his disciples and there was no time for leisure not even to eat.

But in the midst of all this, there seems to be perhaps the most important message for our time. Did you pick it up? Or were you busy moving on to the next part. Verse 31 says - Jesus said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." This is the antidote for the stress of modern life. It is indeed a pointer back to the concept of the Sabbath. This is the idea of a routine and regular rest with the pressure off. But our protestant work ethic says, that we must be working otherwise we are dishonouring God. We have succeeded in the recent years in giving away the Sabbath. Sunday is like every other day now and the rest of the week encroaches in on it until we have to do these things on the Sunday so as we can fit them in.

Now perhaps you may think that I am returning to topic of Sunday attendance - keeping the numbers up so to speak, but I am not. The idea of a Sabbath rest was to put pause in the week not to fill it with another thing. Many of our churches, particularly in the cities, concentrate on filling up the lives of their people with things to do. A friend described her life in one such church - Bibles under the arms and Bags under the eyes.

Fortunately, the country has its own rhythms and so we cannot set the pace, but the irrigators and the harvesters tend to drive us as well. Now I am not promoting the idea of idleness, but there is need a fundamental need to put spaces into our lives.

Most important is the sense that we are finding that deserted spot and there is time spent there. And this is a positive sense - Time made not discovered - a deliberate space in which to rest and re-create.

Perhaps we should look at our own lives. Think about this last week? How much space was there in it. This is the first question. Can you remember times that there was the opportunity to not do anything or to correctly phrase it to do nothing (and there is a difference). How many times did we miss meals or rush them to get the jobs done that needed to be done? How many deadlines real or artificial did we have governing our life this week.

But there is more than just the idea of space for doing nothing. Jesus was proposing that they would be there, spending time with him. We may do nothing when we collapse with the exhaustion of a hard day, but this is not what our Lord seeks.

How many times, did you seek to spend some uninterrupted - quality time with our Lord? Our weakness as a church, is not so much a lack of will or vision, but a low energy level because we do not put aside the time to charge the batteries. I am sure that nearly every one of us has run out of petrol, delaying the refilling to a point that suits us.

To move forward as this parish, it is more than just dancing before the Lord that I mentioned last week, we as individuals need to refocus our lives around opening opportunities to be in a place with the Lord. Not looking in the first instance for a great length of time, but the habit of at least engaging with Jesus to find our way forward.

Perhaps this is a message for the Lang family as much as others to turn and take control of the circumstances and run our lives with the focus on God. Believe me, it is as much a struggle for me as for you.

Let us take Jesus advice and find that space in our busy schedule to come apart for a while to recharge and renew so that we can continue on with the ministry that he has called us to.