I know what it's like...you are browsing through blogosphere and you come across a blog entry like the one you are reading now...then you scroll down and see how long it is...yawn...next entry...next blog...I want pictures...how about the YouTube video? Well I said that I would be posting my sermons on this blog since they are part of my thoughts. The truth is that once I post the sermon here there is a possibility that someone might use it and not prepare their own (sad for them, they would probably preach a much better sermon if they did do their own). The other thing is that it seems pretentious...well i'm sorry if it does but that's the was the cookie crumbles. Be that as it may, below is my sermon for Sunday...if you're a member of my congregation, this doesn't excuse you from worship tomorrow...remember it is not only about the "word", we come to worship God as community first.
God’s guidance: May you decide when I should be active and when I should rest
Readings: Leviticus 23:3, Mark 6:30-31
Introduction
I want us all to do something together, I want us to look at our bodies, look at your hands and feet. Look at each others eyes; the way our bodies are designed…they are designed to do something. Our hands are so very well designed we can do the most incredible things with them. Our legs, when they work at their optimum, are able to take us a long way so that we can do things in other places. We were not designed to do nothing…even if that is all we sometimes want to do.
But let me ask you this, apart from some remarkably crazy people (like my friend Dion), how many people do you know who are able to go on doing things without needing rest? As much as our bodies are designed do things, our bodies are equally designed to rest. It is during sleep that our bodies grow (if we’re a little younger), how they release stress and to balance the chemistry of our bodies. In fact if we refuse to sleep, our bodies will take the sleep it needs. That is often why people develop disorders like Narcolepsy and so on. It is the built in defence mechanism of the body saying, “you can’t just keep on doing things, you need to rest me”.
Now if I were a medical professor or the like this is where I would probably leave it and most people would be happy. I’m happy to leave it at that, but somehow I’m not as well. I’m happy to leave it at that since it is true, scientifically. There are some exceptions as I have mentioned before, but in general the statements above are true. But I also want to take it to another level of truth that I guess all of us agree upon…that is that God designed us to work ad to rest.
So today, we look at the theme of God guiding us to the point of listening to him about when we should be active and when we should rest. Remember we are following the series about the Covenant prayer which will culminate on the 24 February with a covenant service where we will renew our covenant with God as Christ-followers.
1. When I should be active
I have already mentioned that we were designed to do things. Our bodies are so designed (and I include our minds in this) that it would be an absolute waste of time for the creator to make fingers, eyes and so on. If God did not want us to work he would never have created us the way we are…perhaps all we would be are one celled amoeba. Seemingly all they so is exist. Some would argue that we should be called human doings instead of human beings, since that suggests that we merely exist and have no purpose.
No let me just say this, I have no idea why God does what he does…the point is he does and he created us for his purpose. And in each of each he has given us a purpose; both a general purpose as well as a specific one for the individual. However, this sermon is not about exactly what the purpose is for each of our live except just to say that God created us to do, to work.
When we look at our gospel reading, we are told that the Apostles surround Jesus to tell him of all the things that they had done. Now this could very well be a brag session for these men but of we look a little closer at the passage we really see this as a report back for each of these men. Mark is very specific about using the word Apostle here and it is the only time he uses it. The word recalls the verb apostello which means to send. This of course implies that Jesus had sent these men off to do some sort of work and so the action of the disciples coming to Jesus to tell him was indeed a report back. As you can see from the Gospel lesson, Jesus did not come to let us sit back and do nothing…he came that we might be sent (where ever that may be.
Now just a couple of things about work that I have found in Scripture:
i. Work should be about serving God
Whatever work we do, whatever we are called to do, in every arena, we are urged, by Paul, do in service to God. In Ephesians 6, regarding slaves, Paul says that one should serve wholeheartedly, as if one were serving the law. Not to say that when someone if being treated unjustly that they should be told to put up with it. But even were our work is for other people or it is our career, it should be done as for the Lord. Imagine getting up in the morning and saying, “Lord this work I’m about to do today is for you”. What a marvellous attitude to have, it would make the world of difference in our work ethic.
ii. Work should be about servanthood
One thing I am sure that we all know as Christians is that we should become Christ-like. The New Testament is filled with such admonitions. One of the most striking examples of Christ calling us to be like him is in John 13:14 where he washes the disciples’ feet and calls them to do likewise. To develop an attitude of servanthood is something that Christ calls us to do. It goes against the grain of what we are told and taught by society. It is all about the self and the elevation of the self. When it comes to be being Christ-like, we need to set those things aside.
iii. Work should be completed
In Acts 20:24 and 2 Timothy Paul speaks of completing work. He uses the illustration of a race, where he longs to complete the race in Acts and speaks of having completed the race in 2 Timothy. It is clear to me from these passages that there is virtue in completing that which we set out to do. Sometimes this may not be possible due to circumstances but I urge us to seek every way to complete what God has set before us to do.
In all of this, when we are active, let us be reminded that when we renew our covenant with God, of which a part of that covenant is saying God you say when I should be active and what I should be active in.
2. When I should rest
We all know how important it is for us to rest…don’t we? In my studies at university I studied human development, and generally speaking I came to these conclusions regarding various stages of life with regard to rest and sleep.
i. Babies and Toddlers
It is reckoned that babies need about 3 hours of sleep during the day and about 11 at night. This of course differs from opinion to opinion. Whatever the right amount is, we know they need it and they don’t just take it for themselves. Hence the fact that by the first couple of months of a babies life, at some point, the parents vow “never again.” It is a challenge and there are many occasions that the baby ends up being over tired and then can’t sleep at all…unless you drug it (joking). Sleep is a challenge for babies.
ii. Children
Now things seem to get easier here and I am not the expert apart from my own memory of what I was like. I can remember that I was impossible at times. When bedtime comes there is every excuse under the sun why you don’t want to sleep. I have been told the remedy is a good smack on the bum. That seemed to be quite effective with me.
iii. Teens
Now this seems to be the age that has no issue with sleeping. They have the ability to fall asleep in the most obscure places and times i.e. Class in the afternoon (around homework time) etc… The challenge here is that, biologically the Teenager is in desperate need of rest for their development and always seem to be fast asleep and this is why people think they are lazy (although this is debatable). Even when a teen is sleeping, they always seem tired.
iv. Young Adult (Early and middle Adulthood)
This is where I fall in. I am a case in point, I am always tired. I don’t think there are too many people my age that would pass up a chance for an afternoon nap, or an anytime nap for that matter. Unfortunately, however, because to the expectations placed on young adults such as work, children, family, socially, they never get enough rest.
v. Adulthood (Early and middle Adulthood)
Now we get to the point at which my parents are at. I can remember a time that my father could watch TV until all hours of the night. Now he gets into bed almost immediately after supper and crashes. Now the dynamics are similar to Young adults in the sense that there are still work stressors (albeit often more stressful and tiring). There is the challenge there.
vi. Late Adulthood
This is what my book on Human Development calls this stage of life (not Old age). At this point you often have the case that says, I wish I could sleep, but I just lie there. I have even heard of people that go to bed and just lie awake all night. The challenge here is that they have been working all their lives and deserve this time of rest in their lives. The trouble is that now with all the time in the world to rest, there is no ability to rest.
In the Gospel lesson today we are taught that Jesus was into sending people to do things but notice that in the very next verse he says to them “come with me to a quiet place and get some rest”. Furthermore, when we read in Leviticus about the law of the Sabbath, we are instructed to work but also to take time out.
In both cases, God has no intention of binding us to the point at which we find resting or taking time out a chore. I know that for many people rest is a chore. They are so driven by ambition that work is all that they think about…even if it is “as for the Lord”. If we look at another instance of this requirement in Exodus 23:12, the law is set so that we might be “refreshed”, in fact a more accurate translation of that Hebrew word wayyinnapas is in fact “to catch one’s breath”. Let us never fall in to the trap of following the letter of the law without looking at the spirit of that law. I mean, do you really think God would want us to be put to death if we don’t observe Sabbath (as is required by Exodus 31:14). The truth is that we will put ourselves to death if we do not head the warning…Hypertension and stress can kill.
Conclusion
We all know now that God has every intention for us to work and to rest. God s a God of balance and has set for us very clear instructions as to what we should do. His guidance on these matters is there in scripture. Not that we should be concerned about whether or not we are fulfilling the requirements of the law but that we are doing exactly what we were designed to do.
On the 24th February when we say this prayer, please understand that God will not only guide us clearly through Scripture but will use other means to guide us to the point of work or rest. The way we know how is merely to stick to the covenant imperative and be open to God’s guidance on the matter.
Let this sentence be your guide this week as you go from here. Be sure to do the work that is set before you but do not forget to catch your breath.
Amen
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