Rest

One of my colleagues was complaining about his never-ending workload during a busy period. He said: “Just when it seems as though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I get closer and realise it’s my manager coming towards me carrying a torch and an even bigger pile of work!”

And that’s how life can feel sometimes. We have so much on our plates, so many people’s expectations and needs adding pressure to our own needs: care-giving responsibilities, family drama, work stress, bills to pay, health problems to address, appointments to make, laundry to do, housework to keep on top of, deadlines to meet. Our ‘to do’ list never ends.

This is where the apostles find themselves in this morning’s Gospel passage. They have returned from their mission of sharing the message of Jesus with people in the villages and towns and come back to report on what they experienced.

They probably couldn’t wait to hear what their teacher would say to them. Would he give a special mention to the one who had preached most eloquently? Would the one who had converted the most people get a prize? Would the one who had been turned away from every doorstep be marked down as a failure?

Well, in this passage we don’t get to hear what Jesus thought about how well they had performed the task he had sent them out to do. Instead, the only thing Jesus says to them is: “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

He doesn’t mention their performance, their achievements or failures. He doesn’t focus on what they have done, he focuses on who they are and what they need. He highlights to them the importance of rest for restoring your strength and energy when you’ve come out of a difficult and exhausting time.

RESTING from our activities is important to God. He leads by example and in Genesis we see that He ceased from His creative work on the seventh day and declared it a Holy day of rest. In the ten commandments handed down to Moses and the people of Israel, remembering the Sabbath day makes the top 4 on the list. And I don’t think it’s accidental that we are called to have a right view of our Creator in the first three commandments, told to make sure we mark a day of rest, and then instructed on how to treat our fellow humans and their property. Most of us aren’t at our best with other people when we are sleep-deprived and exhausted.

Rest is important for us because we are human beings, not human doings. And this is something we can easily forget when we have so much to get done, so much to accomplish each day.

Even when we are exhausted and know we should rest there is so much in our lives and culture that are working against rest. For starters, we live in a society that tends to only recognise value in what we do and achieve.

People are judged on what they do for a living and how much of a financial contribution they make to society. The economy is important, but focusing on how much money a person makes as the most important source of value they can bring to their community can lead to sneering at those who are unemployed, full-time parents or carers, or people living with a disability that doesn’t allow them to work. It can lead to a lack of concern about the needs of children, the elderly, the asylum seeker, and the sick, solely because they are not in a position to contribute to the economy in that particular period of their lives.

We see, by some people’s reactions to the England players who failed to score their penalties, how quickly someone’s value as a human can be questioned or attacked when they don’t perform well.

But in today’s passage Jesus stands against society’s focus on success at all costs and calls his disciples to look after their bodies and wellbeing by resting. He reminds us that we are far more important than our work or achievements.

We are only human and to function properly we must not forget to make time to just “be” in the middle of all our doings. We must allow ourselves to rest. The temptation is to keep soldiering on as a martyr. Not wanting to be seen as weak or struggling we continue bustling through our days until we end up burnt out, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Reaching a point where we are dead and unfeeling towards the needs and interests of those around us.

God calls us to work for Him but within that work He calls us to take a rest. To “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

Psalm 23 describes the rest He wants us to have. Taking time out in the presence of our Good Shepherd. Lying down when we need to rest our tired bodies. Giving him all our worries and troubles and burdens to carry and leaning on His loving promises to care for us. Allowing God to lead us beside still waters, to look at our reflection in it. To reflect on our activities, how we have handled the situations we faced. He wants us to see ourselves with clarity in the mirror of His Word so that we can repent of the areas we fall short in. He wants us to reflect on who we are in Him: sheep belonging to His flock, sheep who He cares for and lays his life down for. Sheep He is willing to come searching for when we wander off and get into a mess.

God wants us to rest with Him in the middle of all our “doing” so that He can revive our souls and reawaken our desire and willingness to be led by Him. To spend time seeking his direction on what is the right path. What is the best way to handle this situation? What is the best way to help this person in need?

This can be so hard to do. The demands on us don’t just disappear. They are never ending. Just as the disciples discovered when they sailed to find a quiet place to rest and landed ashore only to be confronted by large crowds of people in need.

But they needed to rest. And we see in the passage that Jesus takes over when he sees the crowds. He has compassion on them and begins to teach. Wherever he went sick people would beg to touch his hem and all who touched him were healed.

And that seems to be the key. When we take time to rest in God. When we take time to rest from our ‘to do’ lists, we are refuelled and refilled.

The Bible says that we are a dwelling place for God. The disciples needed rest and needed to go to an isolated place but the important thing was that they carried Jesus with them there. And Jesus, who was with them, was moved with compassion. He acted on their behalf, while the disciples rested. And as they rested God was restoring their souls, reviving their energy and stirring up their own compassion so that – once recovered – they would have the passion and strength to go back out there and love their neighbours and families as themselves.

We need this balance in our Christian journey through life. We are new creations, part of the new humanity that God created through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. In Christ, God has granted access to those far and near. And He has called all who enter into this new humanity to break down the walls that divide us from our fellow human. He has called us to live lives of peace and reconciliation. He has called us to dare to be different. To walk in contradiction to the way that society walks. Where there is hatred and xenophobia, He calls us to show compassion and hospitality. That could mean lovingly but firmly challenging hateful comments from our friends or family on social media when we see it instead of staying silent or laughing it off as a joke.

Where there is fear of death and disease during this time of global pandemic, God calls us not to fear but to trust that He is with us, His rod and His staff bringing comfort to us. Knowing that we are His and that whether in life or in death, whether in sickness or in health, God will walk with us.

Our God, who leads by example, has walked this earth in human flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. He knows what it is to be tempted, He knows how it feels when you’re tired and exhausted and have a million and one things to do, He understands the fear of future pain and suffering, He knows how it feels to weep endless tears at the death of loved ones. He knows betrayal from friends. He knows oppression and hatred.

I don’t know how you are feeling this morning. We have all come through a challenging and painful year and a half. Some of us have lost family and friends to the Covid pandemic; some have had medical treatment delayed or cancelled due to the extra strains on the NHS; all of us have had our freedoms and way of life dramatically restricted.

This has been an emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausting time. And maybe, as we prepare for the unlocking of society in the next 24 hours, we are feeling relief mixed with apprehension and fear. Perhaps we are feeling exhausted and concerned about the rising rates of infection. Maybe the last thing we want to do after a year of isolating and social distance is to plunge ourselves back into the crowds of humanity. Maybe we have reached the end of our compassion, the end of our tolerance levels. We feel exhausted and burnt out.

But remember that God is in you. We are the dwelling place of God. And He will be moved to compassion when we cannot be. His Holy Spirit will pray on our behalf when we don’t have the strength or the words to speak. His Holy Spirit will help us to care when we couldn’t care less. Help us to act in love when all we feel is numbness. Help us to make peace when we are too angry to reconcile with those who have offended us.

If the very fabric of Jesus’ garment brought healing to others just by them being in contact with it. How much more might our hands, our words, our love bring healing and peace when we extend them to others? We are clothed in Christ and the Holy Spirit lives within us.

God so loved the world – was so moved by compassion at the crowd – that He sent the Good Shepherd. He sent him to live amongst us, to guide us and teach us, but most importantly to lay down His life for us. Because He recognised that the crowd’s inability to overcome sin was their greatest need.

Through His blood, the Good Shepherd brings healing and access in one Spirit to the Father. Our failures and mistakes have been wiped out, covered over, forgiven, and paid for. He has done this for the whole crowd. All of humanity.

And we who have been brought near are called to share this news with those who are far off. That they, like us, have access to the Father through Jesus Christ.

So, let’s listen to Jesus’ advice here. Yes, we have been given a mission but we need to make sure we take the time to rest. Physically and spiritually. To go with God to a deserted place regularly and let Him teach us through His Word and meet our needs through our prayers. So then we can emerge rested and revived enough to again be filled with compassion when we see the crowds. Then we will be moved to share the Gospel message in words and loving deeds to those who are near and those who are far off.