Last week we spent a little bit of time thinking about how we rest, or how we encourage ourselves to rest. We thought about we might claim back a little bit of time each day that we easily fritter away, in my case on my phone looking at nothing of real value. We read how Jesus got up early in the day and went off to pray – away from the hustle and bustle. The hustle and bustle soon found him and life does that to us as well. No matter how hard we try our slices of peace, of rest, of restoration can be small but I’d like to suggest they are not insignificant. This week, I just want us to be sensitive to the fact that this isn’t just about ‘me time’. Much of what we read nowadays suggests that we are about getting ‘me time’ whether it is a much needed weekend break, a pampering session, a drink in the pub with friends or a fireside hot chocolate and good book.
The story started today with the disciples returning from their mission trip. Having spent time with Jesus they have gone out to do as he did. They were told to take nothing with them but rather to go and rely on the hospitality of others. Now the disciples had returned from their mission trip, and boy were they excited to share with Jesus everything that had happened. Of course they wanted to – he was their rabbi, their teacher and they wanted to impress him as much as please him. However, they are also exhausted. Ministry is exhausting like any job that involves people and their complicated lives or their ability to complicate the lives of others. But for the poor disciples, others kept getting in the way. Like a child trying to get a word in edgewise in a room full of adults, the disciples are constantly being pushed by others. Jesus decides that they need to get away and they clamber into the boat, and for a wee while, the calm of the waters soothes them.
But the Sea of Galilee was tiny, especially for a people for whom travelling on foot was not an issue. Having been to Israel once, I can tell you it is a lot smaller a country than I realised. In my head understanding of the Bible, I always imagined the place to be bigger, but it isn’t! The sea of Galilee is about 21km long and 13km wide. So the people just figured out where they were going and headed off to meet them there.
So, for a moment I want you to put yourself in the disciples shoes…or in their boat if that helps. How would you feel seeing all those people?
To recap – the disciples are tired, even exhausted. The mission was exciting but also scary, they were casting out demons or impure spirits, and spreading the good news of the Kingdom. They weren’t prophets like Elijah, leaders like Moses, or even Jesus – they were ordinary people, with ordinary jobs offered the opportunity to venture into the territory of the educated and religious.
Seeing all the people, and seeing Jesus having compassion on them – how might the disciples feel? Think about it for yourself…
So they might feel disappointed, frustrated, awkward, tired,
For many in our culture today, where we live in a society of the immediate response, that is how they feel. The instant messenger that when it first came out was exciting, now rules the lives of many. Nowadays even email and Facebook are old hat and methods of communication include What’s App, Instagram, SnapChat, Messenger and more. We have Zoom, Skype and others for video calls. Our phones ping with increasing regularity and we are expected to answer almost immediately. Facebook even rates us on our speed of response to messages.
Add to the pressure of our gadgets, the pressures of work where we left the office and returned for the next shift, now many are dealing with work emails over dinner, in bed and more. No more can the average employee look forward to snow days because of broadband and the ability to sign into work even in 25ft snow drifts. Even being off sick is almost impossible because people still message or email and the gadget pings. Throw in family, in any of its varieties, older relations, children, friends who are in crisis, top off with community work such as the School Parent Council or helping at the Foodbank, and suddenly we are drowning…
This scenario isn’t just you. This scenario is any number of women and men up and down the land. The boss, the parent, the child, the teacher, the community, the church, the partner, all come seeking you and like the disciples seeing the crowd, the sinking reality that you aren’t getting that time away hits like a mallet. Many of you know this feeling. And you are not alone. Sometimes we can make the mistake that it is only ourselves that are caught in this busyness cycle.
So many in our world, and particularly in our westernised culture are looking for rest, but like the disciples they are seeing needs – the needs of others superseding their needs.
How can we, as a faith group, who believe in the Sabbath principle of rest, allow others to rest also? The story ends with the disciples getting back into the boat, fed and with supplies, able to move away from the crowds. Jesus stays behind to send the crowd on their way and the disciples find themselves back on the water.
Look at that passage from Exodus – the Sabbath wasn’t just for God’s chosen people. It wasn’t just for those who laid claim to faith.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
It was for everyone. Rest is not an optional extra for the human being. It is a necessary part of being human. So how might we live a life that incorporates and values rest? How might we get rid of the guilt of not doing something? How might we truly find that the Sabbath isn’t about doing nothing at all, but actually is a form of worship and re-orientation towards God. When we are always on the go, we never truly reflect. To be able to look back and see where we have been, means taking time in the presence of God to rest. It need not be filled with religious texts or books, just an open heart and mind to God’s Spirit. Though be prepared for it to be a life changing experience because I believe that the holy time we spend in quiet reflection, prayer, scripture, watching creation whether it be a rainbow or the waves on the water, or the colour changing in the trees, - that time of stillness, watching the clouds pass by or gather, is so valuable. It is not time wasted. We sleep because our bodies need it, we take Sabbath rest because our spirit needs it.
Encouraging others to rest means that we too must value it – not as an optional extra but as a way of life. So can I encourage you to think about how you might help another value rest. For example : I never go to a shop on Christmas Day or festival holidays because there is no need too. I try to help out others so that many hands make light work letting people go home a bit earlier. I clear my table where possible in a café so that it is less work for another. These are all small things…but I’d like to think they make a difference. And I actively encourage people to rest, to be gentle to themselves. I’m sure you can think of other ways to interrupt the busy life of another to allow them to rest.
Rest is not for the few – it is for everybody. That includes you and me. How might we model a life of work and rest that helps others to embrace it? After all, if it is good enough for God???
