It is very quiet here. . . very. . . very quiet. Outside the window of my office I see large snow flakes trickling down into the yard. It is beautiful to see (not so safe to drive in, but pretty to look at). I can no longer see my footprints in the snow as I walked to the church this morning while sipping coffee. If the lights in the building were not on, no on would even know that I was here. School is not in session because of the snow and ice that it feel upon. Across the hall there are no children learning their letters, shapes, and lessons. They are not singing songs are talking about what day of the week it is.
It is just me here today.
The quiet hum of fluorescent lights in my office, and the gentle sound of the heater keeping the cold at bay, are my only companions today. I find myself breathing quieter when no one is in the church but me in fear that I will be too loud. It’s a silly thing to think of, but that is how today is going. Like I said, it is so quiet here today.
The quietness that I am experiencing amidst a snowy day makes me think about the power of rest and what it can do in our lives as the church. Rest is something that I believe the church needs to embrace more fully, and at the same time, rest is also a practice that can make us feel guilty to engage in. Do we not say, “there is no rest for the weary?” We are conditioned to be productive as Christians, to be active in society and at work. Therefore living in the opposite direction, by fully embracing a posture of rest, does not carry much appeal to us. But it should. We should look for time to rest in our Christian walks much more often than we do.
In an article that I read recently, Denominational executive and pastor, Eliza Cortes Bast writes these words about rest that do carry with them some the truth about how we feel about rest. She writes,
"Rest produces guilt. Every minute I spend away, every minute I spend with my guard down, is an invitation to return to more work and more worry. My absence risks the people [that] I serve, the core of who I am. What if something happens to them while I am gone?"
As this article continues, Eliza by remind the church that scripture calls us to find time and space to rest—not step back to reload or recalibrate our list of tasks—rest. It is not a shameful act to step back, or to slow down, so that we can find a moment to rest in our day. Jesus did it repeatedly in the gospel, and he also taught the practice to his disciples. Rest was how Christ encountered His Father in heaven. It was vital to him and it should be for us.
On a quiet snowy morning such as this, perhaps God is offering you a chance to put aside what you are doing for the moment and rest. I wonder how that rest will shape the remainder of your day and your week?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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