"No Shame in Resting" Message #4

Mark 6:30–32 NRSV

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He 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. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

INTRODUCTION

REST GETS A BAD RAP IN SOCIETY AND CULTURE THESE DAYS....IT CAN STAND TO BE REDEFINED, RE-IMAGINED

AND THEN RECLAIMED.........WHEN WE TURN TO THE PRIME TESTAMENT, AND THE VERY 1st BOOK OF THE BIBLE,

GENESIS, WE ARE REMINDED OF THE DAY OF REST EVIDENT IN GOD’S OWN DAYS OF CREATION…GENESIS 2:1-3

Genesis 2:1–3 NRSV

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

THEOLOGIAN MARK BUCHANAN MAKES THE CONNECTION BETWEEN TIME ITSELF AND THE IMPORTANCE OF

FAITHFULLY OBSERVING SABBATH.....AND HOW SABBATH ITSELF IS THE REST OF GOD.......HE WRITES:

Sabbath is both a day and an attitude to nurture such stillness. It is both time on a calendar and a

disposition of the heart. It is a day we enter, but just as much a way we see. Sabbath imparts the rest of

God

—actual physical, mental, spiritual rest, but also the rest of God—

the things of God’s nature and presence we miss in our busyness. In a culture where busyness is a fetish

and stillness is laziness, rest is sloth. But without rest, we miss the rest of God: the rest he invites us to

enter more fully so that we might know him more deeply. Be still, and know that I am God.” Some knowing

is never pursued, only received. And for that, you need to be still.

Buchanan, Mark (2007-03-10T22:58:59.000). The Rest of God . Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

IT IS THIS ATTITUDE OF REST HE NAMES THAT WE SHALL PURSUE AND SEEK TO EMBRACE TODAY......SO MANY

TIMES THERE IS A TENDENCY TO IMAGINE REST AS A ONE DAY PURSUIT.....REST, AS A WAY TO PUT DOWN OUR

WORK, REST IN AN INTERVAL OF EVERY 7 DAYS.......

REST CAN BE MORE TO US THAN SABBATH

IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT THAT REST CAN BE A FREEDOM FROM THE ANXIETIES AND WORRIES OF THIS

WORLD.

THE CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION REPORTED IN 2021:

Anxiety is a normal reaction to uncertainty and things that may harm us. For many of us, the coronavirus

and the COVID-19 illness make for a very uncertain future. People worry about their own health and the

health of their loved ones, both here and abroad. It's important to be kind to yourself. This is an anxiety-

provoking and stressful time for everyone, and it's okay if you feel more anxious than usual.

REST IS ONE WAY TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF......IT’S A WAY AND ATTITUDE THAT BREAKS WITH WHAT YOU DO

REGULARLY.....WE HEAR THAT IN OUR TEXT FOR THIS MORNING.....JESUS SAYING TO THE DISCIPLES:

He 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.

THIS IS AN IMAGE OF REST PRODUCED BY ONE OF THE GREAT EXPRESSIONIST MASTERS, PABLO PICASSO SIMPLY

CALLED, THE REST.....The woman in this painting is Marie-Thérèse Walter, one of Picasso's first mistresses. THE

RICH AND WARM COLORS…HER HEAD RECLINING GENTLY ON HER ARM AND HAND SHOW US SOMEONE DEVOTED

TO A MOMENT, A BREAK IN THEIR REGULAR ROUTINE......IT SHOWS US SOMEONE BEING KIND TO HERSELF AS SHE

IS PERHAPS NAPPING ON SOME AUTUMN AFTERNOON.......

THE WRITER WILL SCHWALBE WROTE:

“Reading and naps, two of life's greatest pleasures, go especially well together.”

SO REDEEM YOUR TIME, BELOVEDS, AND BE KIND TO YOURSELVES AS YOU WELCOME THE CHANCE(S) YOU TAKE IN

THE WEEK AHEAD TO READ....AND TO NAP

REST SURELY IS A BREAK IN YOUR REGULAR ROUTINE.....WHATEVER THAT MAY BE......

SACRED SENSORY REST

MEDICAL DOCTOR, DR SAUNDRA DALTON-SMITH PENNED A BEAUTIFUL TEXT SHE CALLED, SACRED REST: RECOVER

YOUR LIFE, RENEW YOUR ENERGY, RESTORE YOUR SANITY.......IN IT SHE GIVES READERS ENCOURAGEMENT TO

RECOGNIZE:

WE LIVE OUT OUR LIVES IMMERSED IN SENSATIONS. OUR PROBLEM IS, MOST OF US TAKE OUR SENSES FOR

GRANTED. WE ARE SO ATTUNED TO CONSTANT SENSORY INPUT, WE’VE LEARNED TO BLOCK OUT MOST OF

IT. WE HAVE ADAPTED TO OUR NOISY, ARTIFICIALLY LIT WORLD WITH A KEEN ABILITY TO IGNORE WHAT WE

DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH. OUR OVERLY BUSY AND OVERLY STIMULATING SOCIETY HAS CREATED THE

PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR SENSORY OVERLOAD, EACH TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT CHIPPING AWAY

AT THE SANCTITY OF OUR 5 SENSES.

SHE THEN GOES ON TO REMIND US:

#1 - EVERY DAY OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM IS UNDER CONSTANT STIMULATION

#2 - BACKGROUND MUSIC PLAYS IN OFFICES, ELEVATORS, EVEN WHEN WE’RE ON-HOLD ON THE PHONES

#3 - TV’s, COMPUTERS, I PADS, AND SMARTPHONES ALL GLOW WITH THEIR PARTICULAR COLORS TO ADD TO OUR ENVIRONMENT(S)

SHE SAYS IN HER BOOK, WE ALL NEED A BREAK, A TIME TO REDISCOVER LIFE IN SMALL TANGIBLE WAYS AND TO

REDISCOVER OURSELVES APART FROM THE PEOPLE WE SERVE, THE ROLES WE PLAY, THE TITLES WE CARRY, AND

THE GOALS YET UNFULFILLED. SURELY THIS IS WHAT JESUS IS DOING FIRST LISTENING TO THE APOSTLES....AND

THEN TAKING A CLEAR STEP TO GIVE THEM A BREAK:

Mark 6:30–32 NRSV

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He 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. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

THE INVITATION TO COME AWAY......WAS AN INVITATION TO SET DOWN MORE THAN JUST THEIR ROUTINE, IT WAS

AN INVITATION TO GET THEM TO A DESERTED PLACE, A PLACE WHERE ALL THEIR SENSES COULD HAVE A

REST.........IT WAS AN INVITATION FOR THEM TO BE APART AND BY THEMSELVES........A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD

SIMPLY EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY THE SILENCE, STILLNESS AND SENSORY REST........IT WAS AN INVITATION FOR

THEM TO EXPERIENCE RESTORATION AND REPRIEVE.......

THIS IS JESUS SHOWING THE APOSTLES, BY HIS EXAMPLE, THERE IS NO SHAME IN RESTING BELOVEDS, NOT FOR

THEM NOR FOR US

CONCLUSION

IT WAS THE GREAT ESSAYIST abolitionist, and poet RALPH WALDO EMERSON WHO SAID:

GUARD WELL YOUR SPARE MOMENTS. THEY ARE LIKE UNCUT DIAMONDS. DISCARD THEM AND THEIR

VALUE

WILL NEVER BE KNOWN. IMPROVE THEM AND THEY WILL BECOME THE BRIGHTEST GEMS IN A USEFUL LIFE

OH HOW BEAUTIFUL IT WOULD BE FOR MOMENTS OF REST TO BE GUARDED AND IMPROVED LIKE UNCUT

DIAMONDS......AS WE KEEP IMPROVING OUR PERCEPTIONS OF REST AND KEEP OVERCOMING THE MANY TESTS TO

OUR REST WE CAN COME TO APPRECIATE AND CELEBRATE..THIS PRAYER AND PIECE OF POETIC PROSE CALLED,

SLOW ME DOWN, LORD!

SLOW ME DOWN LORD! EASE THE POUNDING OF MY HEART BY THE QUIETING OF MY MIND. STEADY MY

HURRIED PACE WITH A VISION OF THE ETERNAL REACH OF TIME. GIVE ME, AMIDST THE CONFUSION OF MY

DAY, THE CALMNESS OF THE EVERLASTING HILLS. BREAK THE TENSION OF MY NERVES WITH THE SOOTHING

MUSIC OF THE SINGING STREAMS THAT LIVE IN MY MEMORY. HELP ME TO KNOW THE MAGICAL RESTORING

POWER OF SLEEP. TEACH ME THE ART OF TAKING MINUTE VACATIONS OF SLOWING DOWN.....TO LOOK AT A

FLOWER, TO CHAT WITH AN OLD FRIEND OR MAKE A NEW ONE, TO PAT A STRAY DOG, TO WATCH A SPIDER

BUILD A WEB, TO SMILE AT A CHILD, OR TO READ FROM A GOOD BOOK. REMIND ME EACH DAY THAT THE

RACE IS NOT ALWAYS TO THE SWIFT, THAT THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN INCREASING ITS SPEED. LET ME

LOOK UPWARD INTO THE TOWERING OAK AND KNOW THAT IT GREW GREAT AND STRONG BECAUSE IT GREW

SLOWLY AND WELL............

IT TURNS OUT, BELOVEDS, THAT REST…BLESSED REST IS AT LEAST 4 THINGS TO US:

#1 - REST IS THE GRACE WE EXTEND TO OURSELVES

#2 - REST TESTIFIES TO OUR HUMANITY AND OUR NEED FOR DAILY REPLENISHING — OUR NEED FOR DAILY

BREAD

#3 - REST IS A TASTE OF HEAVEN: WE NEED TO RETURN TO REST AS A DEER RETURNS TO A STREAM....

#4 - REST IS YOUR SOUL’S LOVE LANGUAGE: IT COMMUNICATES IN A WAY YOUR SOUL UNDERSTANDS BEYOND

WORDS & STATEMENTS.......

BELOVEDS, THERE IS NO SHAME IN RESTING......RESTING HELPS US REDEEM OUR TIME....AND PREPARES FOR THE

WORK OF REDEMPTION IN OUR MIDST AND IN DAYS WEEKS TO COME......REST IS IN ITSELF RENEWAL............

REST SHOWS US HOW HEALING OCCURS WHEN WE ALLOW OURSELVES THE TIME, SPACE AND GRACE TO BE IN THE

PRESENCE OF GOD IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR BUSY LIVES.....JESUS HIMSELF INVITES US TO REST....

LET US PRAY.............