Taking Time to Rest

Keeping the Sabbath

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56                                                              Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas                                                                    July 27, 2003

Jesus compassionately tells his weary, hard-working disciples, “Come away and rest for a while.” So tell me, how rested are you this morning? How rested are you generally? No doubt we’ve all had lots of rest already this and every weekend, right? Maybe? No? Chances are that most of us don’t get enough rest, and I’m not just talking about the amount of sleep we get.

Webster’s Dictionary defines rest as “freedom from activity or labor, to refrain from exertion”, or “to be free from anxiety or disturbance.” So let me ask you this: how often have you been free lately from all activity or labor or exertion? Are you free from anxiety or all disturbances?

If you’re like lots of folks I know, you might not even remember the last time you felt really rested. The pace of life for most of us is stuck in high gear, and that’s true for most of the retired folks I know, too. Family and friends, work and business associates and community groups ask more and more of our time. This is especially true if we have talents or treasures that these groups or folks desire. It seems the more we have to offer, the more people want from us – and that includes the church.

You may be one of those kinds of people who has a hard time saying “No” to others or organizations. Or you may be such an extrovert that finding quiet alone time is never on your agenda. Yet who among us hasn’t felt overwhelmed at times by the needs of others, let alone by our own needs? Don’t we all desperately crave a few moments of peace and quiet?

Even Jesus and the disciples did! But what all-too-often happens? Just like them in the story in today’s Gospel lesson, when we finally do convince ourselves that we must get away and find some rest, the interruptions seem to come by the truckload.

Don’t you wish one of the Ten Commandments was, “Thou shalt chill out.” Well, actually, there is one like that, “Thou shalt observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Jesus was certainly aware of this in today’s text from Mark 6. The disciples have just returned after being sent out in pairs by Jesus to the surrounding countryside to heal and teach. Upon their return Jesus asks them to share how things went and what they taught. His response is to call them aside to have a rest, because he knew they were tired and hungry. Verse 31 states, ‘For many were coming and going and they had no time to eat.’ We’ve all been there, haven’t we?!

One of the most important aspects in understanding how this biblical text applies to our lives is to press a little further to find out why we choose so often not to rest. Sojourners Magazine, a publication which focuses on social justice issues, had a article a few years ago by Rabbi Arthur Waskow called, “Radical Shabbat: Free Time, Free People.” It is subtitled, “Honorable work and restful renewal are both aspects of responsibility.” He reflects how most Americans today have less time to raise children, share neighborhood concerns, or develop our spiritual life.

The rabbi asks, “Why is this happening?” and then answers, “Because doing, making, profiting, producing, and consuming have been elevated to idols.” The biblical concept of Sabbath is a critique of these idolatries. I guess even 4000 years ago there needed to be a law to get people to slow up and get some rest. Contemporary religious leader Barbara Brown Taylor writes,“Sabbath is a gift, but we are so reluctant to accept it, that God had to make it a command.”

It’s not that doing, working, making, and even consuming are intrinsically evil. It’s just that a society that never pauses long enough to catch its breath and reflect on its values neglects to love and affirm community and family as it should. As a country, and often as individuals, we usually only do that in the aftermath of some tragedy.

So, it is helpful and reassuring to recognize that Jesus himself encouraged the disciples to take a break, to care for themselves, to recharge, and not to feel they must respond to every cry. They were limited human beings who needed to rest. Why should we think we are any different?

One of the gems that emerged from the Presbyterian General Assembly in 2000 was a paper entitled, “An Invitation to Sabbath: Rediscovering a Gift.” See if some of the following excerpts don’t ring true for you, and perhaps for us as a congregation.

For some the need for Sabbath emerges as a cry from within. Exhausted, we yearn over the loss of time to rejoice in those closest to us, or simply to play, to rest and be still, to delight in the goodness that we believe yet surrounds us...

For some the need for Sabbath names itself in quiet grief. Grief that we are moving faster and faster in our lives, but the only progress we seem to make is into a greater emptiness. Grief that the ways we have strained so conscientiously to live are simply not working. Grief that although we partake abundantly from the table our culture spreads before us, we come away from the table still hungry, as hurried and pressed as ever rather than nourished and renewed.

So what’s the answer? To put it most simply: Rediscovering the gift of Sabbath. Referring to the commandment to keep the Sabbath, John Calvin declares that it simply reflects God’s genuine concern for God’s people. Calvin writes, “Work is good, but when we work all the time work becomes a curse not a blessing.”

And as that General Assembly report states, “And so Sabbath invites us to rest and take joy in what already is, even as God rested on the seventh day and rejoiced in all the goodness of creation.”

But Sabbath is not only a time for our joy and our rest, it is also a time for our spiritual growth, deepening our communion with the Living God. “On the Sabbath,” writes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “we especially care for the need of eternity planted in the soul.” John Calvin simply tells us, “On the Sabbath, we cease our work so God can do God’s work in us.” Sabbath keeping is also a way of living out our understanding that ultimately we are not our own; that we belong to God. Not to our possessions. Not to the striving after them. Not to dominance over other human beings.

So how do we live the gift of Sabbath? Interestingly, our Presbyterian Directory for Worship, located in the center section in the Book of Order provides a helpful list:

• seek rest from daily occupation;
• share with others in worship;
• take time with God’s word;
• engage in acts of compassion;
• enjoy activities that refresh and renew the spirit.

            That’s the key - refreshment and renewal! For how often does our supposedly “leisure” activities, even our vacations, just make us more worn out and drained of energy?

Did you notice in that list the sense of community. Rest is not just about being alone by yourself, rather, it’s doing that which brings renewal. And that often includes family and friends, and the community of faith. That’s especially important for those of us who are persons working or living alone, or single parents, or even couples that feel isolated.

I don’t know about you, but after 4 1/2 years now being involved with Hispanic ministry I’m learning a lot about all this from our Hispanic church members. There seems to be a lot of truth in the generalization that Anglos often don’t seem to be as relaxed and rested. We Anglos always seem to have an agenda – even in our attempts at relaxation. We have to check with our calendars and day-planners and palm pilots in order to schedule time to rest. Our Hispanic church members, on the other hand, seem to have an easier time just hanging around each other and not doing anything in particular.

There’s a lot we all can learn about simply being in the presence of one another - with no agenda or program or schedule, or clock. [Look at watch] Looks like I better get this wrapped up – heaven forbid we should go past 12 o’clock!

That General Assembly paper also recognized what can happen in our corporate church life. “At all levels of our denomination, persons struggle with exhaustion. What patterns of drivenness do we need to let go of in our congregations? What forms of true spiritual rest do we need to embrace?”

One of the dangers of small congregations like ours is that so much of the work falls upon so few people. This especially applies to those elders who are currently serving on the Session. So, to you elders, I especially want you to take note of Jesus’ words, “Come away and rest a while.” And I’ll try to practice what I preach, as well. And too those of you not on a committee, we need your help!

May each one of us discover, or perhaps rediscover for the first time, Sabbath - true rest. It is a gift that lies before us. No doubt there is a deep need for rest that burns within us.

And let us take a good close look at how we order our church life, and how we order our individual lives (including our work life), and see if there aren’t ways that we might slow up in order to find much-needed refreshment and renewal for our bodies, minds, and souls.

The path to renewal begins by following Jesus’ instruction to “Come away and rest for a while.” Take time to rest!

Amen.