FULLTANK 3047: You're Not Lazy, You're Empty (And Jesus Knows It)

Jesus did not tell His disciples to work harder. He told them to rest and I am preaching to myself right now. In our Gospel for today the Apostles returned to Jesus after the ministry. And I want you to imagine them exhausted, sweaty, emotionally spent, full of stories. Some victories, some disappointments, they report everything they did and taught. What does Jesus say? He does not say, "Good job, now do more," or "We need to build on this momentum," or "Let's maximize the crowd." Jesus says something that feels almost shocking in our hyperbizzy world. Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. Friends, that line is not a suggestion. That is a Savior who knows something about our soul. Jesus knows that you can be doing God's work and still be running on empty. Some of us feel guilty when we rest. We feel like we're wasting time. We feel like we're being irresponsible. We feel like we're falling behind. But maybe you're not lazy, you're empty, and Jesus knows it. Because in our Gospel today there were many people coming and going and the disciples had no leisure even to eat. Think about that. No time to eat, no time to breathe, no time to be human. And that's where many people are today. Our society is rich in things, but extremely poor in time. We don't have time for family, for people, for relationships. We don't have time for ourselves to reflect, to pray, to breathe, to rest, to enjoy God's blessings now. And the tragedy is this, we can be busy and still be empty. Henry David Theroux said, "It is not enough to be busy." So are the ants. The question is, "What are you busy about?" And author John Ortberg wrote something that hit me hard. He said, "Hurry isn't just a disordered schedule, but a disordered heart." I agree. "Hurry is often not about time management. Hurry is about what's going on inside us." Sometimes we hurry because we're afraid of being left behind. Afraid of not being enough. Afraid of silence. Afraid of facing our emptiness. So we keep moving. We keep producing. We keep achieving. We keep scrolling. We keep filling every blank space with noise. Until Jesus comes to you gently firmly and says, "Come away and rest a while." Notice he doesn't say quit. He doesn't say escape. He says, "Come away with me." Because Christian rest isn't running away from life. It's returning to the source of life. Let me offer you very practical ways to obey Jesus' invitation. Not someday, not when life becomes convenient, but now. Eight tips on slowing down. Number one. Choose the longest line. Deliberately pick the longest grocery check out line. Yes, no one will fight you for it. Smile. Pray. Bless the people around you. Let this become your tiny retreat. Number two. Chew slowly. Deliberately chew your food slowly. As a friend once told me, "Food is God's love made edible." Save it. Be grateful. You'll calm your body and your soul. Number three. Put people before things. Deliberately waste time with your loved ones. Laugh, play, do something together. Learn the art of being not just doing. One day, I brought our top leaders to the beach for three days. We played charades. We looked ridiculous. It was wonderful. People asked me why our community remains strong after decades. One reason we played a lot. Number four. Spend 10 minutes a day just being with God. Deliberately enjoy God's presence alone. Each day spend at least 10 minutes hanging out with him. No agenda, no performance. Just be with God. Sit before the blessed sacrament. Walk under a tree. Take a slow walk and hear God whispering to you. Be still and know that I am God. Number five. Deliberately limit your screen time. You can lose your life to a feed. One day, you wake up and you ask, "Where did my life go?" Instead of scrolling, spend a night playing a game as a family. Sing together. Read a book. Start a hobby. Volunteer. Serve. Don't numb your soul. Nurse shit. Number six. Drive in the slow lane. Yes. Deliberately drive in the slow lane on the expressway. You may arrive 10 minutes later, but you'll be less angry, less stressed and less tired. Pray for the cars passing you. Sing worship. Imagine Jesus seated beside you. Number seven. Park far. Deliberately park at the farthest spot in the parking lot. Less fighting. Less circling. More walking. More peace. And number eight. Minifications. And never retire. People work and stop all their life. Retire at 65. Then take a long vacation only to lose their purpose. Here's a better way. Take many retreats now and never retire. Take small breaks throughout the year with family and friends and keep serving God with joy. Because when you love what you do, you're not just working, you're living. Now here's the beautiful twist in the gospel. Jesus invites the disciples to rest, but the crowd still follow them. The plan gets interrupted. The quiet time gets disturbed and what does Jesus do? Mark says he saw the vast crowd and his heart was moved with compassion for them. For they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things. Yes, Jesus rests, but Jesus also loves because the goal is not to hide from people. The goal is to love people without losing your soul. The only way you can live that life compassionate, but not depleted and giving, but not empty is if you learn the rhythm of Jesus. Come away. Rest. Be filled. Return. Serve. If you don't come away, you will serve from emptiness. And when you serve from emptiness, you become irritable. You become harsh. You become resentful. You begin to see people as interruptions instead of as loved ones. But when you come away with Jesus, he restores you. He refills you. He reminds you of who you are. He becomes your peace. So today, here in Jesus as a loving shepherd, come away with me and rest alive. Before we pray, I'd like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my supporters who makes this ministry, this mission possible. Without you, I cannot do it. You know who you are, you give every month my rameen, my rameen, salamat. If you want to support this work of love, this is what you do. Very simple. In Facebook, click a button, subscribe. In YouTube, click the button, join or in podcasts, click the button, buy me coffee. Thank you so much for your love, your generosity and your kindness. Come, let us pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Lord, thank you that you want me to rest in you. Teach me, Lord, to rest with you and to be filled with your peace, your joy and your love. So I have something to give when the rest is over and I will go back to serving. Thank you, Lord, give me this rhythm, Lord, this very important rhythm of rest and service. This I pray is Jesus, mighty name, amen and amen. God bless you. Once again, thank you, dear supporters. Those of you want to support in Facebook, click the button, subscribe. In YouTube, click the button, join in our podcast, that button that says, buy me coffee. Marameen, salamat. God bless you. This is Bo Sanchez in full tank. I will see you tomorrow. Hey, thank you so much for being part of this podcast by listening, by subscribing and by commenting and sharing this podcast to your friends. It will make our work grow and God's love will spread to many more people. You can also click that link that says buy me coffee. If you want to support our work of love, we do a lot of work that is sending out missionaries, helping the poorest of the poor, sharing God's love to young people. Marameen, maraming salamat for your support and for your kindness. God bless you more. God reward you for your generosity.