The Gift of Rest

Holidays

Christmas is coming…this week! I’m excited. Christmas is great…lots of good food (sweets!), fun of opening gifts as family, some time off…I love Christmas Eve worship, rejoicing together in birth of Jesus.

So many of the things we love about Christmas are reasons we love holidays in general…and vacations…If you think about it, Christmas, holidays, and vacations, are about two things.

They are about rest…taking a break from usual grind of day-to-day life, of work, of taking care of your household.

They are about celebration. In holidays and vacations we take time to celebrate and enjoy the good things in life.

Valentine’s Day we celebrate love and relationships, Birthdays we celebrate a person, just for being them!. 4th of July we celebrate our nation, especially freedoms we enjoy here. On St. Patrick’s Day we celebrate the color green, which of all colors truly deserves to be celebrated the most.

And this is true all over world, every nation and culture has its unique celebrations…in Thailand, the Thai Songham Festival, part of the New Year’s celebration features a lot of water (symbolize washing away negativity, bad luck and sins of past year. In many cities, huge water fights.

Island of Bali, again as part of New Year’s, they have what’s known as Nyepi, which means silence. Day of silence. For 24 hours, whole island shuts down, no traffic, work, pleasure. Neighborhood watch groups who patrol.

Now you may be more on one side or other…like rest aspect or enjoying activities…are you more of lounge on beach for week, or go do stuff on vacation, see sights, hike mountain?

This isn’t just accidental, fact that this happens all over - God made us this way. God certainly made us to work, to do good work…but, then, after we work, we rest. And play. And delight in all of it.

Why he gave his people, Israelites, commands to have regular celebrations…Passover, Pentecost, Feast of Tabernacles.

These days, events, celebrations, have a way of re-centering us, reminding us of what’s important, relationships, gifts in our lives. It’s exactly role that weekly worship plays in our lives…we come to rest and celebrate our God, we do it together.

Because God knows that we need rest…every aspect of who we are as humans…our bodies need rest, our minds need rest (college students coming home from finals), our souls need rest.

And we need to celebrate the good. God made world good. For us. For our good. Although, more accurately God made world good because He is good. Everything he creates is good - it couldn’t be otherwise. But he certainly shares it with us, wants us to delight in it.

Here’s amazing thing, God delights in our delighting his good gifts. Like joy of parent watching the faces of their children as they open their gifts on Christmas morning.

So much so that if we can’t see or recognize the good, it lessens us. We become depressed, hopeless. Because we’re missing God himself. The good - if we let it - points us to one who IS good, God.

Let’s be honest. It’s been a tough year. A wearying year. I was at the dermatologist’s the other day, receptions were talking - one of them about how strange it was that soon we’d be writing 2021. I’m guessing there’s a lot of folks who will be eager to do that.

But, as someone in our spiritual formation group reminded us - nothing will magically change when New Year rings in. These difficulties are going to suddenly disappear. So much of enduring difficult has to do with our abiding in Jesus. Being deeply connected to him and his love and goodness.

This morning, I want to encourage us with how we can enter into Christmas, finish this year, experiencing God’s great gifts of rest, of his goodness.

That we can have ourselves a Merry Little Christmas.

Prayer / Scripture - Mark 2:23-3:6

Jesus’ Sabbath Encounters

We have two stories here that center on same issue - the Sabbath. Specifically, disagreement Jesus had with Pharisees on what it means to “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

Sabbath is day of rest. In Hebrew culture, new day begins in evening, when sun goes down. So every seventh day, from Friday evening to Saturday evening, Jews stop. Rest. Worship.

In Jesus’ day, this was no trifling matter. One of biggies, one of 10 commandments…Remember to keep Sabbath holy. Day dedicated to rest and day to honor God.

First story involves disciples walking through grainfield, as they walk along, they’re picking off heads of stalks, eating grain. Which normally would be no big deal - problem was, it was a Sabbath.

Pharisees see them and question Jesus…why are your disciples doing what is unlawful on Sabbath? The disciples were working, harvesting grain. That’s forbidden.

In response, Jesus responds tells story from Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) of David, whose on run from Saul, who goes to tabernacle in need of food.

Priest there gives him consecrated bread. This was bread baked daily from finest of wheat, passed through eleven sieves! And it was only for priests to eat. That was God’s command, right there in Torah.

But priest, because there was need, gave David and his companions the bread to eat.

Point of story is clear - there was greater need (hunger!). The law was broken in order to meet that greater need.

Same thing here, Jesus’ disciples are hungry (presumably they have no food), so they picked the grain and ate it - even though it was the Sabbath - because of this greater need.

Here’s the most telling part, summary - Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath. In other words, God gave this command to practice Sabbath for good of his people. For them to obey Sabbath command would be life giving for them. That’s purpose of command, to restore his people through rest and re-creation.

But when you swap that, make rule itself the main purpose, it becomes restrictive, life denying.

The second story is similar: On a different Sabbath, Jesus goes into synagogue and there’s a man there with withered hand.

Next part is fascinating - Pharisees watch Jesus closely to see what Jesus would do - is he going to heal that man?

Fascinating that this was their assumption about Jesus, that his response to seeing someone broken, deformity, would be to heal them. Doesn’t that tell us something amazing about Jesus? Even his enemies - who didn’t want him to do it - were watching him intently because they assumed he would.

They knew Jesus well enough to know that his natural response would be one of compassionate love, desire to heal.

Of course, Jesus knows them, too - all too well. He knows exactly why they’re locked onto him. I love that he doesn’t back down in face of opposition. He invites the man with withered hand to stand up in front.

Then he asks the question - Which is lawful - in other words, what would God have us do? Would God have us do good and save life, or to do evil, to kill?

Their silence betrays them. The answer is obvious.

No wonder he gets angry as he looks at all of them. No wonder he’s so deeply grieved.

I want you to see here for a moment how deeply contorted our thinking, our sense of right and wrong become, when our hearts are stubborn. When they are hardened. We’re so sure we’re right.

Here Jesus is, right in front of them, healing a man with withered hand - bringing life in an absolutely miraculous way - and all they can think is, it’s the Sabbath. Can’t do that on Sabbath.

I don’t think there’s anything Jesus grieves more over us as when our hearts are stubborn. When we cling obstinately to our way. What we think is best. Because he knows foolishness it leads us to.

Jesus longs for us to have a willing heart. Surrendered heart. Following him begins there. Which is actually very good news, because anyone can do that - if we’re willing.

Love what Jesus does next…he simply says to man, stretch out your hand. He does and it is completely restored. Healed. Like new.

Not only is it just brilliant that Jesus can and does do these things…that he loves people over rules and traditions.

But it’s brilliant in that they can’t really accuse him of anything…can they really prove he healed it? He just told man to stick out his hand.

Of course, the bitter irony is - and this goes to show our twisted our thinking becomes as a result of our stubborn hearts - their response to this is not to bow down and worship Jesus…but to plot on how they might kill him! Because apparently it’s ok to break that law if need arises.

Sabbath Rest

Here’s point. Jesus has already told us what it is: Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath.

Sabbath is God’s good command for us, for his people.

Sabbath is all about stopping. Resting. Enjoying God and all his good gifts.

John Mark Comer says that word, Sabbaoth, is used in four ways throughout the Old Testament to suggest exactly what God intends: Rest. Stop. Delight. Worship.

Resting and experiencing goodness of God. Of God himself and all that he’s given us in his creation.

For Pharisees, Sabbath itself had become more important than what it was for. It had ceased to be a gift, it had become a burden.

I would venture to say that for us today, the problem isn’t that the Sabbath itself has become too important…it’s that it has not been important enough. We haven’t taken it seriously enough.

I’m using Sabbath this morning somewhat in broad sense - certainly practice of taking weekly day of rest and honoring God, but in larger notion of simply learning to taking time to stop and rest and to take the time to delight in and worship God and all his good gifts.

I want you to think with me for a moment about freedom of a child who is well taken care of, who lives in a home with sense of being loved, cared for, watched over.

And in particular, the freedom of that child. When they fall asleep, they crash! They aren’t pacing floor at night or lying there, unable to sleep because of all the things they have to take care of. Rest, because they trust all that’s being taken care of.

And they play in same way. They are in moment, enjoying whatever it is in front of them…outside, making discoveries, or on their bedroom floor engrossed in whatever game they’ve come up with.

And they have that freedom because they trust their parents are taking care of everything.

I believe this is what God is inviting us into when he invites us into Sabbath rest. To let go. To surrender to this care and provision and protection. To rest. To simply enjoy all His goodness.

As we move into adulthood, we do have greater responsibilities - we should work diligently and faithfully, be good stewards of all that we have.

the practice of Sabbath rest - of taking weekly holiday, enjoying holidays, taking vacations, is God’s way of reminder us that He is King and this is his kingdom.

We don’t have to bear responsibility. The world - and our lives - are in his hands.

There’s such irony in fact that Pharisees wanted to take control over Sabbath, they made it their responsibility. Idea of Sabbath is let go of control. I don’t have to manage everything.

Consider for moment sleep. Not going to sleep right now, just think about it!

Sleep is ultimate act of surrender. You can’t make yourself sleep. You just let go, relax, and drift off.

You can’t accomplish anything! In fact, you’re totally vulnerable - why you never wanted to be kid who fell asleep first at a sleepover.

And yet, we don’t rest well. We don’t sleep well. We are a chronically tired society.

There are more people killed each year by drowsy drivers than by drunk drivers.

Dr. Siang-Yang Tan has a book called Rest. He says that in 1850’s average American slept 9 1/2 hours every night! By 1950 that dropped to 8 hours. Today average American sleep under 7 hours a night. As we drop sleep, we are suffering for it - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. We need rest.

A study done by National Institute of Mental Health let people sleep as long as they wanted. They slept an average of 8 1/2 hours a night, and reported being happier, less fatigued, more creative, energetic and productive.

In Psalm 121, the psalmist asks the question, “Where does my help come from?” He answers his own question, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth…he will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Sabbath rest is God’s way of saying to us, I’ve got this. I’m watching over you. All the time.

Our willingness to stop, to rest, to delight, to worship - demonstrates our trust that we really are children of our loving Father, who’s always watching. He neither slumbers nor sleeps.

So we can. So we can be those children who just let go. Who crash. Who play, enjoying the good, wonderful, gifts right there in front of them.

Sabbath Keeping

So let me wrap up this morning by offering some ways that you can engage in soul-training exercises, that you can enjoy Sabbath rest over the holidays.

I hope not just over the holidays, but weekly - that is God’s intention!

John Mark Comer says that Sabbath keeping is the most counter-cultural thing we can do! I have to be honest, I’ve been trying to do it more fully and faithfully…and it is hard!

So, as we’ve been doing throughout this series, take one of these disciplines and commit to doing it this week.

You my never have thought about this as a spiritual discipline, but here it is…sleep. No alarm. Sleep until you are fully rested. When that urge hits, I need to get going. Say, nope. I’m resting.

Make a day of your week or over holidays a Sabbath rest day. There’s a lot more to this practice, but let me give you some ways to engage that. Fair warning, it may take time preparation time beforehand, to take care of things days beforehand so you really can stop, rest, delight, worship.

Digital detox. Disconnect. “Digital addiction is real!” Turn off your devices for a day. You may decide you want to use your phone call a friend or family member, but set it away for allotted amount of time.

Do things that you enjoy doing. That are life-giving to you. “Take the day to pamper your soul in God’s presence. Take a nap. Walk in woods. Play a game. Read. Time with friends and family. Good food! And do them in presence of God, trusting that he is delighting in your delight of his good gifts.

When you give gift to someone, you want to see their reaction, their joy. You want to delight in their delight of your gift.

Same holds true with God - I promise you, your joy will increase. It always does when those who love each experience giving and receiving of gifts.

Finally, be with God. My hope and prayer is that we’re growing as followers to point where this doesn’t seem like a duty, but joy. To be in his presence. To meditate on his Scriptures. To enter into a time of Thanksgiving. Quiet, un-rushed time of prayer, just being with God, delighting in him (Hebrews 13:15…Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

So, that’s it. I hope you hear this not as a duty, but as a gift to you. God wants to give you Sabbath rest. Opportunity to enter into his rest and to delight in Him and his goodness. I hope that over these holidays that you will do exactly that. And you’ll have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.