Homily, Hallowed Rest
The Second Sunday after the Pentecost, Proper 4B, 2024
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Tequesta, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20)
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17
2 Corinthians 4:5-12
Mark 2:23-3:6
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
A favorite TV show of my family is called Bluey. Now, if you have kids at home, you’ve probably watched the show as its one of the best and most popular shows I’ve ever seen, but if you haven’t, Bluey is an Australian cartoon show about a family of dogs living their everyday lives, and its profound success is due to not only its aesthetic beauty or its incredible way of telling stories that will make you laugh and cry in 7 minutes flat, but its relatability to family life.
Recently, we were watching an episode called Relax in which Bluey’s family goes on vacation together. Throughout the episode a playful tension is created between the kids who joyfully embrace each moment and their mother who is in such a rigid hurry to get to the beach that she misses out on all the moments along the way. She says throughout the episode that she just wants to get to the beach so that she can finally relax. Ironically though, when she finally makes it to the beach—her family back at the hotel room—she realizes that she’s unable to relax there either, and comes back feeling defeated. “I don’t know how to relax,” she says. In the end, she learns to relax by watching her kids and slowing down to live in the moment.
Relatability.
So many of us don’t know how to relax—don’t know how to rest. How many of us have come home from vacation only to feel more tired than when we left? How many of us fill our days off with household chores and taking kids to sports and going shopping? How many of us take work home with us in the evenings and how many of us feel busy, even in retirement?
We don’t know how to rest. And our culture has not taught us.
For better or for worse, our culture prioritizes productivity. We prioritize getting things done. And so when we find that we have some free time, we feel pressure to fill it with something. And if we don’t, we feel guilty for it. And if we can’t, we feel less for it.
And when we do rest, often we rest in half-hearted ways that are more about distracting or numbing ourselves in front of screens rather than fully slowing down.
In a culture like ours, rest is not very important. And at best it is simply a necessary tool to recharge our batteries so that we can get back to the more important work of getting things done—the more important work of productivity.
Jesus, however, lived in a different culture. In an ancient Jewish culture in which every week beginning on Friday evening for 25 hours people stopped doing things, to rest. It was more than a tradition; it was an obligation, an expectation, a requirement, and everyone had to do it. And while through the centuries rabbis have debated exactly how to observe the Sabbath, they never debated about whether to observe the Sabbath. That was a given.
And so today in our gospel passage we encounter exactly such a debate. Some pharisees critique Jesus and his disciples for plucking heads of grain and for healing a man on the Sabbath. Now from our point of view, this may seem like an utterly ridiculous accusation. And we may find ourselves cheering Jesus on for putting those pharisees in their place—of course there is nothing wrong with doing those things on the Sabbath; it’d be wrong to do nothing.
But we don’t live in that culture. And Jesus’ words in this passage weren’t spoken directly to us. And so I’m wondering what Jesus would say in our context. We hear what Jesus said to a community that perhaps had become a little too rigid in their understanding of Sabbath observance, but what would Jesus say to us, who have essentially come to completely ignore it?
Because it’s clear in this passage, that the Sabbath was still important to Jesus. He goes so far as to say that the Sabbath was made for humanity. Listen carefully to those words, “The Sabbath was made for humanity.”
If we read the story of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 we typically think about the seventh day as the day that God made nothing. But according to Jesus, God did make something. In God’s rest, God made the Sabbath. Alongside of the sun, the moon, and the stars, alongside the sea, the land, and the animals, God made the Sabbath. And God made it as a gift for humanity. God made it as an act of love for humanity. Only after life itself, Sabbath rest is God’s first gift to us.
And notice that if Sabbath was made on the seventh day, Sabbath is actually the culmination of work, and not the other way around. See, in our culture we tend to think of rest as the means and not the end. Rest is just something we need so that we can get things done. But in the Biblical tradition, it’s the other way around. Work is the means and rest is the end. The culmination and completion of work is what leads to the more important thing of rest. As incredible as all God’s work is the first six days, according to Scripture, the seventh day—Sabbath—is the only day that God calls holy—hallowed.
In God’s world, hallowed rest is more important than anything you can do. That’s not to say doing is not important, there are six days for it, but hallowed rest is what is most important.
And the reason that rest is that important—the reason that it is a gift—is because when we rest we give up control. When we rest we give up any notion that our worth is dependent upon our accomplishments. When we rest, we allow ourselves to simply be in the presence of God. And that is our true vocation in life. That is what God calls us to. After all, we are human beings, not human doings.
And so, what would Jesus say to us about our lack of Sabbath observance? What would Jesus say to us about our lack of rest? He might say something very similar as he said to the pharisees: The Sabbath was made for you. Sabbath rest is a gift to you. Your work is important, but it is not more important than your rest. So slow down. Receive the gift that God has given you. And bask in the hallowed creation of Sabbath rest. Amen.
Resources for Further Reflection
For more reflection on Sabbath rest and a deeper engagement with this passage, check out the following resources that inform my thinking on the topic.
Book: The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
Rabbi Heschel is one of the most influential theologians and teachers of Judaism in the 21st century. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called Rabbi Heschel “his Rabbi” and “a truly great prophet”. Heschel’s book on the Sabbath is a short but incredible read that I highly recommend. It completely changed my perspective and I continue to reflect on its words.
Podcast: “Sabbath and the Art of Rest” from the Ezra Klein Show
In this episode, Ezra Klein interviews Judith Shulevitz about her book, The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time. They speak not only about the observance of the Sabbath itself, but how the conception of time, morality, and community are shaped by its observance.
TV Episode: “Relax” from the show, Bluey
This is the episode I reference in my homily from the award winning, relatable, and moving Australian children’s show, Bluey. I highly recommend not only this episode, but the others as well! Its on the Larsonage TV screen regularly.
This little study guide (meant for groups, but can be used by individuals) was shared with me by our office coordinator, Mary Lou, and I found it really helpful and enlightening. If you would like to spend some time learning more about the tradition of keeping Sabbath and reflecting on how rest shows up in your life, I recommend it.
Song: “Slow Me Down” by the Porter’s Gate
While not about the Sabbath specifically, this song by one of my favorite artists captures the call of the homily to slow down and rest in the deepness of God’s peace. The refrain’s use of “Good Shepherd” is an added bonus.
Song: “Slow Me Down” by Robby Seay Band
Another song by another band, but with the same name, this song also captures the call to slow down in the presence of God.
Thoughts on Faith 