The Scripture
readings, above, are from the appointed
'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of
Ireland while hyper-links to the readings are taken from the New Revised
Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © http://nrsvbibles.org
(Year B: Seventh Sunday after Trinity, 18th
July 2021)
Rest is a natural part of lives. If we are lucky to attain the age of say 60,
we are likely to have spent somewhere between 15 and 20 years lying in various
beds (which is a good reason, if you can afford it, to buy a good and
back-friendly mattress!).
Once upon a time, people in these parts of
the world were very mindful of Sunday as a very special day of rest where only
‘essential’ work was allowed like milking cows or selling Sunday newspapers and
ice cream! In some places on this dear
Ireland, the principle of a ‘day’s rest’ was taken so far as to have children’s
playgrounds closed (not that such arrangements ever prevented children from
playing even on the Sabbath!).
Today (regrettably), Sunday is like any
other day – traffic volumes are high but more evenly distributed across the
day, stores are open around the clock and people who are not working in paid
employment use the time to catch up – wash, organise the house and meet up with
family and friends. Sunday morning
sports among other things have replaced, for many, the altogether special thing
of getting ‘dressed up’ and going together as family to mass or Sunday service.
Nostalgia might beckon but the reality is that we live in a very different
world.
Yet, people are possibly more interested
than ever in doing courses on meditation, mindfulness, yoga and similar exercises.
Even the term ‘retreat’ is in popular vogue again and not as some
school-imposed day in a convent or other religious house but in a ‘barn’ with
lots of scented candles, cushions, green lentils and people standing on their
heads. Namaste be with you!
Yet, we can find treasures in our own
Christian faith if we look at where we stand or have come from. Let’s pick up
the story of Jesus in the sixth chapter of Mark. The tranches of Mark 6 chosen
by the liturgists, this Sunday, skips over verses 35 to 52 and takes up the
story after Jesus and his disciples had crossed over to Gennesaret where crowds
were running about gathering up sick people. Between heading off to ‘a deserted
place by themselves’ (verse 31) and the healing of the sick recounted in verses
53 to 56 in the selected readings of the day, Jesus fed five thousand people
after which he went away again for a night to pray on his own in the hills
where a storm suddenly blew up and Jesus had to walk across the water to rescue
the terrified apostles. It does not appear that the disciples or Jesus got a
huge amount of rest during all of these happenings as recounted by Mark!
What pressed upon Jesus the most? It was four
things that amount to the same thing:
Compassion for the crowds who looked for encouragement, leadership and
understanding (‘they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach
them many things.’ – verse 34).
Compassion for the people’s hunger for food – ordinary and not ordinary –
whereby Jesus feeds the crowd from the little that the apostles could muster.
Compassion for the apostles’ hardness of heart and lack of trust (verse 50).
Compassion for those who were brought to him – the sick and those in need of
healing.
Compassion incited Jesus to show practical
concern for his friends by proposing a time of rest and withdrawal together as
a group. Yet, the crowds demanded further healing and instruction and Jesus
continued to show the same compassion by changing his plans and attending to
the needs of a people who were ‘like sheep without a shepherd’ (verse 34). This
change of plan tells us that (a) rest is essential and to be embraced as a
sacred human obligation for ourselves and others, and (b) a ministry and service
governed by compassion means that the timing and extent of such rest should be
flexible. ‘Out of hours’ and not available doesn’t work when someone is
seriously sick, troubled or in danger. When in doubt ‘err on the side of
compassion’.
And so it that time of year, again, when
some lucky people in the Northern hemisphere of the globe can afford a break
from the everyday routine and to ‘take some air’ and enjoy the fruits of the
earth. In our daily and pressurised lives
we need to seek places and times of quiet where we can simply be.
Whether this be accompanied by walking, exercising, reading, listening,
looking or simply enjoying the company of loved ones there must be time and
space for rest. After all, on the
seventh day God rested from all his work (Genesis
2:2). The writers of Genesis wished to press home the good example the
creator of the universe showed to us his creatures! We owe our seven day week
to these ancient scribes among others. And to press home the point further
there is the biblical injunction of a seventh year of rest when the fields are
not to be sown or vines pruned (Leviticus
25:4). All of this made good ecological sense and probably still does (I am
no ecologist!).
St Augustine of Hippo hit the nail in the
right place when he said ‘God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts
are restless till they find their rest in you.’ [Confessions, Book 1, chapter
1(2)]. We seek rest in the wrong places and in the wrong ways only to find our
hearts still more restless. All ‘things’ can be arranged to serve good ends if
we know how but when we make an end of these ‘things’ we end up in a loop of
frustrating anxiety.
Rest is important for those moved by
compassion to lead; to teach; to help heal; and to proclaim. Might I add that it is important for
everyone. At this time, I am thinking especially
or our frontline doctors, nurses and carers who are exhausted after four waves
and four lockdowns. What will the coming months hold for them and for all of
us? We need to rest a bit now if we can and do so in a way that is safe and
compassionate to our very own selves and to each other.
Might we just grab a few moments of
particular rest today? How about breathing in the spirit (breath) of God’s holy
presence and breathing out compassion in a prayer for the one next to me at
this present moment in life? Might we create a number of such moments throughout
the day – consciously remembering to stop and breathe in and breathe out
again? And, if we are fortunate enough
to enjoy health, time and financial resources to use some of our holiday time
away to have more moments of such prayerful rest?
And as it says in the concluding prayer for
one of the night offices:
……grant us the rest we need that we may be
ever more willing to serve you….
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