Meditation, July 6, 2008    

The United Churches of Olympia, F. Mark Dowdy

“Sacred Rest”           

Texts:  Psalm 145:8-14; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Prayer:  Compassionate God, we pray as St. Augustine (Bishop of Hippo, written 397/398 CE) prayed, “O Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” So may we rest in you this day. Amen

The Psalmist says, “God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  God is good to all, and God's compassion is over all that God has made……God upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.” 

Jesus says, “"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Wayne Muller in his book “Sabbath,” given to me as a gift by friends as I was leaving for my sabbatical in May two years ago, says:  “In the relentless busyness of modern life, we have lost the rhythm between work and rest, (absolutely necessary for a whole and healthy life)….Our culture invariably supposes that action and accomplishment are better than rest, that doing something – anything – is better than doing nothing.  Because of our desire to succeed, to meet these ever growing expectations, we do not rest.  Because we do not rest, we lose our way…..we by pass the nourishment that would give us succor.  We miss the quiet that would give us wisdom.  We miss the joy and love born of effortless delight.  Poisoned by this hypnotic belief that good things come only though unceasing determination and tireless effort, we can never truly rest.  And for want of rest, our lives are in danger.”  Muller goes on, “Our lack of rest and reflection is not just a personal affliction.  It colors the way we build and sustain community, it dictates the way we respond to suffering, and it shapes the ways in which we seek peace and healing in the world……Despite their well-meaning and generous souls, community and corporate leaders are infected with a fearful desperation that is corrosive to genuine helpfulness, justice, and healing.  As Brother David Stendl-Rast remind us, the Chinese pictograph for “busy” is composed of two characters:  heart and killing.”

It is mystic and contemplative Thomas Merton who said: “there is a pervasive form of contemporary violence….. activism and overwork.  The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.  (Violence, yes violence!)  To allow ourselves to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit ourselves to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence.  Merton concludes: “The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace.  It destroys our own inner capacity for peace.  It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.” (as quoted by Muller)

Remember, Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”  Then Jesus went away, time after time, alone, and prayed.  We so often forget to follow Jesus’ example. 

We go, go, go;  do, do, do;  faster, more, bigger, flashier – all of which takes away from REST, SACRED REST.  Life lived like that makes us crazy.  Life lived like that makes us sick!    

In the world of saneness and health;  in a world of healthy spirituality, healthy relationships between us and God, healthy relationships between all of us in community, there is a formula for self care you’ve heard me mention before:  One hour each day, one day each month, one week each year…….alone, apart, tending to ourselves, listening quietly for God’s still small voice, rubbing up against Jesus’ heart and spirit, smelling the flowers, experiencing the sounds of nature ….. “…in the rustling grass, I hear him pass, he speaks to me everywhere.”  (from the hymn, This is my Father’s World – 1901)   --- experiencing solitude and renewal, however we choose to do that.

Sacred Rest.  That’s what this worship hour is each week or is supposed to be!!  That’s what this table brings to you and me this day.  Jesus’ gifts for our sacred rest.  The Psalmist says,  God is slow, compassionate, and good to all.  Jesus says, Take my yoke on you and learn from me for my burden is light and my yoke is easy.”

(Silent Contemplation and prayer)