Forgotten how to relax?

If you are like me, your life can get a bit out of hand at times. Over-committed, over-tasked, over-worked, in over your head! Having more than one job certainly doesn't help. University staff member, part-time faculty, part-time PhD student... sometimes I wonder if I am insane... and generally I have to answer my pondering with a hesitant "affirmative."

So, when things do calm down (usually twice a year for me, in late December and late May), I've often found that I've forgotten how to rest. Since most of my work revolves around being on the computer, it's hard to find many things that are technologically oriented as relaxing. But more important than "unwinding" from a busy schedule is finding rest. By finding rest, I'm not referring to being involved in a hobby or interest, but rather the biblical idea of a Shabbat rest. We are so tied into busy-ness, always needing to be involved in "something"... a task, a project, a conversation, something that stimulates our senses and occupies our mind, that we haven't trained ourselves to incorporate Shabbat rest into our lives.

Jesus had a great deal to say about the Sabbath day, and generally it was rebuking the way that the Pharisees had approached their Sabbath "enforcement." Rather than understanding the principle of why the Sabbath day existed (I'm very much a "spirit" of the law kind-of-guy), they built the proverbial "fence" around the law, mistakenly assigning importance to the nuances of how to observe the commands for the importance of why they should observe the commands. Apparently the confusion of how and why continued in the life of the early church, the spirit of which Paul seems to echo in Romans 14 and Colossians 2.

So why was the Sabbath made for man (Mark 2:27)? The faithful are promised a future and more perfect rest, but what about the here and now? What is our rest supposed to look like?

I think there is a two-fold idea of present rest for the believer. First, as noted in Hebrews 4, there is a present rest that comes after hard toils and labors. After the creation, God rested and admired His handiwork, which became the illustration for the Sabbath rest in the Old Testament (6 days of work and 1 day of rest). The author of Hebrews (whomever they may be...) also speaks of the illustration of the people of Israel enjoying a rest after they entered the land of Canaan (Josh 22). Thus, the first picture of rest that we see is after we have worked hard and accomplished the work set before us, it is good to take a step back, admire the work, and thank God for what has been completed. This is not a "pat on the back, look at me" activity, but rather an appreciation for what has been accomplished through hard work and perseverance, not of our hands so that we have earned some grounds for boasting, but of God's work through us.

The other present rest that believers experience is found in the person of Jesus. In Matthew 11, Jesus issues the call to come to him, sit under his tutelage, take up his burden and receive his rest. The reference attributed here is usually to Jeremiah 6:16, but an interesting parallel is found in Sirach 6:24-28. Ben-Sira speaks of the personified "lady wisdom" as a difficult task master whose burden is hard to bear until wisdom is realized, and then it must be grasped onto so as to not lose it. From this toil, she awards rest and joy to those who have sought her out. Jesus also offers his invitation to those who wish to bear his burden, which in comparison is described as "light," and receive his rest and joy. In contrast to "lady wisdom", Jesus is a far more gracious master who offers his learners to come and sit at his feet and embrace his teachings. Jesus, as we take his burden upon ourselves as one of his learners, offers freedom to us from the burdens of sin and worldliness, and their consequences. This is likely the rest he is referring to in Matthew 11 given the context.

So the present rest of the believer is two-fold. After we have worked hard and completed what is set before us, it is good to take a step back, catch our breath, admire and reflect upon what has been completed, and give thanks to God for what he has enabled us to accomplish. As learners and followers of Jesus, he lifts our earthly burdens when we come to him as surrender servants, seeking to do his will and not our own.

So, maybe the reason I have trouble resting is I forget that resting is an active response. A response of gratitude for what God has done, and a response of surrender to Christ as a learner and follower of him, and a bearer of the burden he has given. Appreciation, reflection, and surrender are the marks of Shabbat rest in the life of a believer, and something we should remind ourselves of much more than once a week. As the holiday season rolls in, this is certainly something worth reminding ourselves of.