I am not sure if I have ever said this before, and I am not about to try and find out, but I think this is one of the Sundays where if you have the time, listening to both sermons will be worth it.
Now that that is over. This Sunday I wanted to talk about “rest.” It has been my experience that Christian people, folks who have a relationship with God through Jesus, don’t do “rest” very well. They (who am I kidding), I do busy really, really well.
Knox Presbyterian Are we allowed to rest? Ever?
St. Mark’s Presbyterian Are we allowed to rest? Ever?
It doesn’t have to be valuable busy, just busy. Oh, don’t get me wrong, no one starts with the idea that “busy is better” plain and simple, rather we slowly evolve into the notion. It might begin with a realization that we are the only person who is willing to do X, whatever X might be, and then it grows until we think that it isn’t that we are the only one willing but the only one who can do it. Or perhaps we realize that when we are busy, and in this case it really doesn’t matter what we are doing, we don’t have time to reflect on what is bothering us, or explore those painful emotions, or wonder if what we are doing is worth doing by anyone . . . let alone us.
I certainly don’t want to come across as too judgmental because as I am very clear in these sermons, this is something with which I can, have and do struggle or struggled, but it is important that we don’t lose sight of how important rest is to dealing with any poor reason for being busy. Rest is our window into so much of value: re-charging, re-creating, re-vitalizing, re-younameit, ourselves. Without rest we will first go crazy and eventually we will even die. Isn’t it a wonderful thing that God created rest, tried it out first and then told us to do it too.
May you enjoy rest – whatever that looks like for you!
Warm [currently 29 with the humidex] blessings,
- Date: July 22, 2012
- Liturgical Sunday: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
- RCL Scripture: Psalm 89:20-37; 2 Samuel 7:1:1-14a; Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
- Sermon Title: Are we allowed to rest? Ever?
PS Just a reminder that if you want to download any of the last few weeks’ sermons you can click here to go to the sermons download page
PPS I am working on this while listening to Exodus by Andy Hunter which I can’t recommend highly enough. Electronica with soul, what’s not to love?!?
Okay I know that I am not “supposed” to comment on my own blog posts, especially before anyone else has had even a CHANCE to add their own but this week I just have to.
I don’t want anyone to be misled by the wistful (?) sermon title. Okay, wistful isn’t the word I’m looking for but I can’t dredge up the word I want at the moment. I am really, authentically, *desperately* saddened by people who are not able to allow themselves to rest (and, yes, that includes me at times). Please give yourself time to refresh, recreate and become the person you are meant to be. It is literally impossible for you to function properly when you are sleep-, recreation-, rest-, deprived.