Don't Forget to Rest

Scripture

 Genesis 2:2-3 

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. ² And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.   (NRSV)

Mark 2: 27   

Then [Jesus} said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath."  (NRSV)

Devotion

Earlier today, I "Zoomed" into the regular meeting for a branch of my presbytery's Committee on Ministry.  I felt pretty good as I updated the rest of the committee on what joys and challenges facing the churches I am responsible for checking in with and answered several questions about what my own congregation. It felt good to share how I've been working with folks to set goals, build relationships, and share God's justice and mercy in all kinds of important ways.   The more I was asked to elaborate on certain things and the more ideas people had about resources I might want to look into, the better I felt.  Then I got a question that stopped me in my tracks:

"What are you doing to take care of yourself?  You need to take time to rest."

 The honest truth is that I'm bad at making time to rest.  Sundays are work days for pastors...and rightfully so.  Saturdays are for getting everything finalized for Sunday.  Mondays through Thursdays are chock full of everything from meetings to worship prep to pastoral care and community engagement.  There is always more work to be done.  More people to connect with.  More ideas to explore and dreams to turn into realities.  And that's how I like it.  

Add how much I enjoy staying busy and a deep seeded (though misguided) fear that I'm never doing enough, and it can be hard to convince myself to rest on Fridays (my designated sabbath).  Even when I am physically stop for the day, my mind wants to mull over how to word the next sermon, what info. should be included in an upcoming email, etc.  If I'm not intentional about taking the day off,  I will find a way to keep working.

Modern society teaches us to equate constant productivity with being a good person.  But the fact of the matter is that being busy all the time isn't good for anyone.  Even God rests.  What's more, God told us to honor the sabbath and keep it holy as a way of giving us a day to not only worship...but also rest and recuperate from our labors.  The physical, mental, and spiritual rejuvenation that results from making time to rest helps fuel us when it is once again time to work, volunteer, etc.

When we do not rest, we act as if we know better than God.  What's more as a professor once pointed out in a way that way to close to home, if  we feel like we CANNOT rest, then we have turned ourselves into idols.    For if God can rest without having everything coming crashing down but we cannot do the same, then we must be more important than the Almighty.  Such self-idolatry is heavy burden that causes our bodies to suffer, our minds to lose their creative edge, and our hearts to harden.  We begin to feel Ill-treated.  Unappreciated.  Overburdened.  Pessimistic.  Resentful.  And all because we didn't take time to stop and rest as God commands.

Those of us who feel compelled to be constantly on the go don't usually find resting to be an easy, natural, or even comfortable experience.  That's why we have to be intentional about it.  We need to write it onto our calendars in big, bold script.  If we cannot find a full 24 hour block, where can we find 12 hours?  What can we clear from our schedules or move to a different time?  And once we've set that time aside, we should honor it like we would any other important appointment on our calendars.  After all, this time of doing "nothing" should be the most important thing on our schedule--for it is the time God personally told us to set aside for in order to spend resting in God's presence.

Once we've scheduled and committed to our time of rest, we need to decide how to use it.  A quiet day at home is great, but if we know we are unlikely to find rest there, where else might we go?  I, for instance, tend spend Fridays (my designated days of rest) out in nature.  If that isn't a good option for whatever reason, I'll head to a coffee shop, bookstore, or friend's house in another town...anything that will feed my soul and keep from working.    Sometimes I just drive for a while so that I can be alone with God and my thoughts.  

The more we practice taking time to honor God's command to rest--even if it is only for a few hours at time--the more natural the act begins to feel.  And as our minds, bodies, souls, and relationships become refreshed, the easier it make holy rest into a part of our routine.  That routine can make a big impact on our lives.  I know from personal experience that I'm now usually able to identify the feeling of  spiritual and emotional depletion that comes when I haven't taken my sabbath for a couple of weeks.  And that feeling of being drained usually provides enough of a warning sign to get me back on track with mt sabbaths.   I look forward to the day when taking my weekly sabbath day of rest has become so habitual I no longer need to officially schedule it.  

As I close out today, I'd like to ask the question that so startled me earlier today:  What are you doing to take care of yourself?  What do you do to rest?

 If you have trouble answering those questions, I advise you to take a look at your calendar and schedule in some time to spend alone with God.  Start with an hour or two if need be...and then begin build up until you have a large, weekly block of time dedicated to resting in God's presence.  I guarantee that following God's command to observe a sabbath rest a while will be worth its weight in gold--for the sabbath was made for humans.  And we all deserve a chance to stop and catch our breath.

Prayer

God of the Sabbath Rest, you know how busy life is--how many things are on my plate.  I ask you to help me trust that the world can go on without me for a bit.  Still my scurrying feet, quiet my shouting thoughts, and slow my racing heart, that I may find rest in you.  May my sabbath time with you rejuvenate me for the times that I am called to be busy in Christ's name.  Amen.