Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Nadia Bolz-Weber

Home
Progressive Christian
A sermon on no time to rest and also no jetpacks

A sermon on no time to rest and also no jetpacks

Last updated on: July 20, 2015 at 12:25 pm by Nadia Bolz Weber

A sermon on no time to rest and also no jetpacks 2015-07-20T12:25:36+00:00 Nadia Bolz Weber

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

imageL wikicommons

http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/files/2015/07/2015-07-19-NBW-HFASS-Podcast64kb.mp3

(click above to listen along)

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.

A couple months back I had been in 4 different times zones in the same week, the end of which found me in New York. After I finished my last talk I walked uptown to meet some lady pastor friends, and the minute I slid into the booth of the diner, I suddenly started crying – surprising even myself. My big beautiful buxom friend Jes pulled me into her and let me cry and then finally asked what was wrong. “Nothing’s wrong”, I said “I’m just tired”

Two of our readings today mention rest. Jesus tells his disciples to rest and eat after their teaching and healing campaign, and the Psalmist describes God as a Shepherd who makes us lay down in green pastures. So all week I’ve been trying to hone in on what it means to really rest. Especially since my first reaction to the Psalmists image of rest is that if God is going to insist that I lie down in green pastures that’s fine…you know, as long as the pasture has wi-fi – or at least 3g coverage.

See, as many of you know, I myself have only 2 speeds: go and stop. But when I stop it’s not like I’m resting, I’m just collapsing because I can’t go anymore. And I don’t think that’s what sacred rest means.

And I think that maybe we’ve made an idol of multi-tasking and hyper-activity.

Which is maybe why, I, like many of you, feel like I spend so much of my life exhausted.

I’m not talking the exhaustion and lack of rest that is unavoidable in a life of economic poverty – where every ounce of time and energy goes into basic survival. I’m talking about the ways in which despite the fact that we have every time saving device known to humanity that we don’t actually have more time.

In 1965 there was a senate sub committee that formed to respond to the vast developments in technology that were increasing productivity. They were concerned that, given the increase in productivity within 20 years surely there would be a 15-20 hour work week and then what in the world would the US workforce do when so bored. That’s right, the US Senate in 1965 thought by now that we would have more free time than we’d all know what to do with. (But they also probably thought we’d all have jet-packs too)

But it’s not worked out like that, has it?

We have every convenience at our fingertips and yet we’re exhausted. Busyness is an American epidemic. Like children afraid of the dark who sleep with the lights on we are perhaps terrified of what might reach out and grab us, what might make itself known in the unfilled space. So we layer on 2 or 3 things to fill every moment to make sure there isn’t any.

And even when we have so-called leisure time, we seem to have an endless stream of background noise – Facebook Twitter Buzfeed Instagram podcasts Netflix and then back to Facebook to see if anything has happened in the 5 minutes since we last checked Facebook. Has anyone liked something about me? Was something I said worthy of being shared?

Maybe this busyness is just a way to justify our existence.

Which makes me wonder if, when someone asks me how I am and I say “busy” If that’s some kind of humble brag.

As though what I’m really saying is that I spend an inordinate amount of time and energy justifying my own existence.

And I guess another thing that really can get in the way of rest is a feeling of responsibility. I see that in you sweet, amazing people a lot. Don’t get me wrong, it is beautiful that you care about social injustice, immigration, women who have suffered abuse and kids that are at risk of entering the system. You counsel people and work for justice and protest injustice and that is amazing and the world needs it. But maybe it can feel like a heavy burden too and then any thought of needing a break from it can feel like a betrayal of what you believe in. But Jesus also faced the needs of the broken hearted and alienated too, you know. We heard in our Gospel reading how the sick and those who loved the sick pursued him because of the love and healing he showed toward them.

And … he also took breaks.

Yet I hesitate to preach a “take more breaks” sermon for you.

Because an exhortation to rest more, and take Sabbath more seriously, and take care of yourself ends up not sounding like good news to me (as lovely as those things are) because it just feels like one more thing I have to add to my to-do list.

Make more time for relationships,

start practicing yoga,

keep my car clean,

read more theology and less buzz feed,

do charity work,

take Sabbath more seriously.

I just think we are weighed down enough by to-do lists that adding “rest more” to them doesn’t feel freeing or healing to me, it just makes me want to go back to bed, and not in the keeping Sabbath way but in the mildly-depressed-I-can’t-deal-with-anything-or-anyone way and that’s not rest, that’s an anxiety disorder. Which isn’t actually restful at all

Not to mention that when we add “get more rest and take Sabbath seriously” to our to-do list, we might be tempted to think of it as nothing more than a scheme to fuel us back up just so we can do more work; after all, it is our work that is so very important since that’s the thing that justifies our existence. And the world really needs us. But the wise Rabbi Abraham Heschel reminds us that Sabbath rest is actually about stopping long enough to see that God’s redeeming work in the world goes on with or without us.

I think Jesus told his disciples to Come away with him and rest and eat – not as a pit stop to fill them up to get them back out there as quick as possible – but so that they might experience themselves as just as hungry, broken and tired as those he sent them to serve. And to see that, while they are resting, Jesus is continuing to teach and to heal; just as Jesus continues to teach and to heal the whole world, with or without our help.

So where does this leave us?

That rest is something we actually deserve? I’m not so sure… on the surface that feels like a positive thing. She deserves to be happy. I deserve a nice vacation. You deserve a break today.

But this language of deserving has it’s own trap. Especially when it comes to Sabbath and rest. Because if we see rest as something that we deserve, then we just get trapped into trying to become worthy of deserving it. But if what Jesus and the Psalmist are talking about is sacred rest that comes, not from our deservingness but from God, then I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like employee benefits do where you earn a certain number of Sabbath days for every hour you work.

See, if there is true rest in the presence of our loving God, (and there is) then we’re not on the clock. Because there is no clock. That’s why it’s called grace and not reward.

The rest of the Shepherd who makes you lay down in green pastures is not about time off from work, it’s about time off from all forms of worthiness. Resting in the sacred is a blessed break from the “You deserve a break today” deep-fried culture of the self-obsessed. Sacred rest is a break from the am-I-productive-enough, lovable enough, safe enough, thin enough, rich enough, strong enough-worthiness system we live under. The sacred rest that is yours never comes from being worthy. It never comes through adopting the right kind and the right amount and the right quality of spiritual practices (although if those bring you a sense of well-being then by all means don’t set them aside) the rest that is yours and mine comes from the promise of the Gospel: that Jesus came to save sinners, that Jesus came to heal and love and save the sin-sick and the over-functioning, that Jesus came to give rest to the weary, and the restless, to give rest to harried housewives and overworked social workers and mildly depressed executives.

So rest. Resting knowing that you are justified, not by your busyness, but by grace through faith. Rest in the knowledge of how madly God loves you. Not because of who you are, but because of who God is. Rest in that. Not because you should. But because you can.

As a little benediction, listen to this amazing paraphrase of Matthew 11

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Amen

(Matthew 11:28-30 The Message)

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 1, 2015

Accidental Saints Book Tour Info!

Next Post

July 25, 2015 Sermon on the Feeding of the 5,000 (preached for pastors, musicians and church leaders)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent baptism Uncategorized

Select a Month January 2018 August 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 August 2011 July 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was swallowed by a great fish after being thrown overboard?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Saul David Noah Jonah