“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a
while.”
Rest. When was
the last time you rested? I mean really rested. Didn’t think about much of
anything, didn’t try to solve a problem or worry about something bothering you
or even read something you thought was important to know about? Or catch a
television program because it would be informative and a person has to keep up,
right?
This brief
Gospel reading today brackets the story of the feeding of five thousand hungry
people and Jesus walking on water. So what might Jesus be getting at here when
he tells the disciples to come away to a deserted place?
One of the
things you might remember is that the disciples have just arrived back from
teaching and healing. No doubt they were excited. They had lots of stories to
tell about what happened.
Something you may notice is that Jesus
doesn’t get to rest after all. The second half of the reading says the crowd
managed to arrive even before Jesus got out of the boat. So much for rest, eh?
But we can’t
explain away or deny the invitation, and so today, I want to ask you again.
When was the last time you rested? Rested from everything except drawing a
breath in and out. Resting from everything except simply being, being still.
Rest is a
break, coming away from the hustle and bustle of thought and activity. It means
to renew, refresh, to re-energize. It means an end to work and worry, if only
for a short while. It means a time to stop doing what you were doing so you may
rest.
Some of you
here claim to be retired. But I wonder…most of the people I know who are
retired are busier than I am. Going here and there, traveling, doing various
sorts of ministry, often caring for others: children, grandchildren, friends,
spouses or partners. So for you, when was
the last time you rested?
I could imagine
some of you are getting a little uncomfortable by now. Maybe even just a touch
angry or restless. What is all this stuff about rest anyway? I’m fine the way I
am. I haven’t got time to rest anyway!
My friends, we are not fine. A few
years ago the Centers for Disease Control reported more than one-third of
Americans are chronically sleep-deprived. So are teenagers and children. This
is not only appalling; it’s dangerous.
In the United
States today we’re so occupied with getting and spending, we don’t have time to
rest. We don’t have time to simply be. Everything we acquire takes more time to
take care of, and pretty soon we’re spending all our time maintaining: home
maintenance, furniture maintenance, automobile maintenance, body maintenance.
What about God
maintenance? Well, what about it? What would happen if we intentionally began
to maintain our relationship with God by resting? God maintenance brings growth
with God. It helps us renew, refresh, and re-energize our relationship with
Jesus. God maintenance helps us grow and helps those around us grow. That’s
what’s happening during the Prayer Tool Box sessions on Sunday mornings between
our two services.
Somewhere along
our way, we lost the entire concept of rest, Sabbath rest. We’ve turned it into
something negative. Laziness we call it. Being lazy. But just imagine for a
moment our Hebrew forefathers and mothers. What do you think they thought as an
enslaved people when they heard the commandment to rest? Rest? You mean we
don’t have to work one day a week? Fantastic! Let me at it!
It occurs to me
we may be just as enslaved as the Israelites were. We’re enslaved to dollars,
to success, to appearance, to possessions, to the Internet, and to the idea
that if we’re not busy all the time we’re a failure.
Some of this whole idea we should be
busy all the time and forget being idle, or resting, has to do with what we
want. Most of the time getting and spending is based in want rather than in need.
Yet the most beloved Psalm of all, the most repeated and memorized Psalm, the
23rd Psalm, reminds us, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still
waters.” [1]
How many of you
have ended up ill or worn down or beyond cranky, because you forgot to rest? I
think God knows this and “makes us
lie down in green pastures” when we forget to do so and can’t go on without
rest. We reach a point of “have to” or we’ll become ill.
How about this
week? To play with astronaut Neil Armstrong words, How about one small step for
you and a giant step for humankind? Imagine what would happened if everyone
turned to God maintenance and growth in our life together? And by here, I mean
everywhere.
When you go home today find a pencil
and a piece of paper. Or if you must, your cell phone. Write or type in one
thing you are going to do to rest this week. Just one thing. A nap you’ll take.
A shut off the cell phone day. A game you’ll play. A walk you’ll take in the
labyrinth. A prayer you’ll say, perhaps one of those three essential prayers
Anne Lamott talks about: “Help, Thanks, Wow.” Or a piece of harmless silliness
you’ve always longed to do. Or a phone call to someone you know will make you
laugh. What ever it is, save it so you remember it. Pin it up where you keep
your reminders, or okay, put a reminder on your cell phone, so you’ll see it
every day. Then do it. Do it.
Call me. Email
me. Tell me about it so I can say, “Wow! That’s rest!” I mean it. I’m expecting
to hear from you.
As I conclude my time with you as
your transition priest on 31 July, I will remember you by your stories. The sad
stories and the glad stories, the ones that made me weep with you, and the ones
that made me laugh with you. I want to hear your stories of rest because they
will be stories of being refreshed, renewed, and re-energized.
Jesus invites
us to “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Do it! AMEN.
The Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2018
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