Dear Fellow Children of God,
My first summer in Alaska a church member made a comment
to me as I was greeting people as church recessed. “I’ll be glad when summer is finally over and
we can get back to normal sleeping hours.”
I’m not sure I understood that comment then. But now I know from experience that Alaskans
do have different sunlight hours than people in more southern climes. So we often have different sleep
patterns. It is not uncommon for me to
hear people say, “I’m so tired!”
However, being tired is not necessarily just an Alaska
experience. In our affluent world, with
so much to do and so much to occupy our minds, people are often sleep and rest
deprived. We often indulge ourselves
rather that follow healthy patterns and priorities. Why do you think there are
so many commercials for energy drinks?
We
may think that such lack of rest is unique only to modern culture. But, as I was preparing for worship this
Sunday I was struck by the first verse from the Gospel reading. “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a
crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.” (Mark 3:20)
This experience of being overwhelmed is repeated in a different setting
in Mark 6 where we are told in verse 31 “Then, because so many people were coming
and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them,
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Life can be overwhelming. We need rest.
“Rest” is an important truth of God taught in Scripture,
and rest means more than just sleep. We
could consider many of the Bible verses about rest (for example Exodus 20:8-11, Psalm
127:2, Hebrews 4:1-3). But, there is a
positive point truth about rest we also hear in the Gospel of Mark. In the second chapter of Mark, after
religious leaders had criticized Jesus for walking through the grain fields and
eating some of the grain on a Sabbath, Jesus responded in the following way, 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was
made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the
Sabbath."
Jesus teaches about Himself. He is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is Lord and ruler of the whole
Law. But, Jesus also teaches the positive truth that
the Sabbath and the rest it brings is a
gift! "The Sabbath was made for man,” Yes, we need rest.
That is how God made us. We need
rest for our bodies. We need nourishment
for our souls and our faith. So, God
gives the Sabbath the day of spiritual rest and nourishment. You see, we find rest in God.
We weren’t made for
the ultimate purpose of keeping God’s Law.
(Though, we are created to bring praise and glory to the Lord.) God’s law was created to bless our walk in
this world of sin. "The Sabbath was made for
man.”
I practice certain
disciplines to find times of rest. I
worship on Sundays (and Wednesdays). I
begin my days in Bible reading and prayer.
And, most Mondays you will find me away from the office and perhaps by
some water with a fishing pole, or walking around with a golf stick in my
hand. Still, I know that I struggle to
get enough rest. What happens if the
hospital calls on a Monday, or we have VBS on a Monday, or a funeral, or I
travel, or . . .? I do work many long
hours. Perhaps the greatest energy theft
in my life is the emotional energy required of being responsible for the people
and ministry of a Christian congregation.
But, also in this responsibility, rest is a gift. God Himself is the one who guides and feeds
the His Church. Jesus is the Good
Shepherd. Knowing that God is in control
gives the peace of being able to hand off the responsibility to the one really
in charge.
Like the folks of
Jesus’ day, people of our time also find themselves ‘weary and burdened.’ So, for weary people God gives rest as a
gift. That rest is found in spending
time and trusting in our Lord. May you
find rest in Jesus this Summer.
A Child of God, Resting in God’s Promises,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here is a
picture from the baptism of Glen Price last Sunday, May 31. https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6105100932013912881/6156978281258187506?banner=pwa&pid=6156978281258187506&oid=114993745799525883148
P.P.S. I found
rest in time with my daughter last Friday, May 29, on Harvey Kolberg’s boat. https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6157040457982136625?banner=pwa
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’
- I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St.
John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new
names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for
the first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail,
please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this
message. . .
****
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