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DonateJuly 23, 2006 |
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2 Samuel 7:1-14a
Psalm 89:20-37
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34
Do you have a “deserted place” where you retreat for silence and re-creation? Today, many of us – pastors and lay persons alike – are “on duty” 24/7 – we are connected to our families, co-workers, congregations, clients by blackberries, PDAs, cell phones, e-mail, and text messaging. Many of us, myself included, check our e-mail before bedtime and, then, first thing in the morning, not wanting to miss any event that might have happened while we relaxed with our families or friends, watched a movie, or were asleep. We act as if we might miss something important, and then discover our e-mail box is filled with ads about mortgage reduction, Cialis and Viagra, and paxil and prozac!
This busyness has a cost in terms of fatigue, stress, loss of focus, frustration, and even anger. Even in the midst of success, we need to take time off. Even when we working for justice, we need to take a deep breath, gain perspective, and revive our spirits. Students of the creative process identify a rhythm in creativity – preparation, concentration, rest, and then insight and discovery.
Our busyness often gives us a false sense of connection. We are connected with others on the superficial level of information, but miss the deeper interdependence of life which nurtures intimacy, creativity, and wonder.
In today’s gospel reading, the disciples have just concluded a successful journey of healing and teaching. They return elated, but Jesus notices fatigue beneath their excitement and joy. “For they were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” Perhaps, he knows that deep commitment can only be sustained by a rhythm of rest and action. And so he invites them to a “deserted place.”
As you look at your life, where is your “deserted place?” Where – physically, emotionally, or spirituality – do you have place of peace and rest? Your quiet place can be a favorite chair for prayer, meditation, and study; a meditation room in your home; the church’s sanctuary; a wooded park; the seashore. Your quiet place can also be a rejuvenating activity – gardening, walking, stargazing, journaling, meditating, praying, writing poetry, or driving in your car by yourself. Health of body, mind, spirit, and relationships requires stillness as well as action, space as well as intimacy. Even the most intimate friends and couples require time alone. As Kahlil Gibran noted in the Prophet, “let there be spaces in your togetherness.” The pillars of love must be appropriately distant from each other in order to support a healthy and embracing relationship that reaches out to others.
Yes, there is an art and a discipline to finding a deserted place for prayer and re-creation. Sometimes the whole world conspires against the rest and silence necessary for spiritual growth and personal and relational well-being. In today’s gospel reading, when Jesus and his followers seek a quiet place and in the midst of their silence, “many saw them and recognized them” and sought them out.
“And Jesus had compassion for them, because they like sheep without a shepherd.” Compassion is the gift of connectedness not only with the experiences of others, their joy and pain, but also with God and our own deeper selves. Rest and re-creation are necessary for true compassion. Fatigue leads to objectification of others as simply “projects to be completed” or “cases to be solved” or “victories to be won.” Even when are in the midst of challenging situations, we need to breathe deeply and step back in order to see the other in her or his wholeness.
The gospel reading challenges us to prayerful boundary-setting. Jesus took time apart with his followers. His “no” to work, even the good work of healing and teaching, said “yes” to spiritual growth and self-care. His “yes” to compassion was grounded in interconnectedness with God and his followers.
Boundary-setting is a challenge to pastors and laypersons alike. We want to help persons, but find ourselves with too many demands. “Burnout” is a concern even for the faithful followers of Jesus. We need to love ourselves in the midst of loving others. In so doing, we experience the “peace” of Christ that breaks down the dividing wall of “us” and “them” and “self” and “other.”
What boundary-setting practices can enhance our health and deepen our relatedness to God? What practices can bring greater health to our congregations? While each person’s spiritual boundaries differ, based on energy and personality type, let me suggest a few possibilities:
- Sabbath time, a few hours a week, a day a month, and few days each year for retreat and prayer.
- Breathing your prayers – filling your day with intentional breathing within and between tasks as means of remembering God’s presence and centering in God’s companionship
- Keeping meals sacred – take advantage of gifts of technology such as “message systems” and “caller ID”
- Cultivate intimate relationships – relationships take time and require leisure
- Learn to distinguish the important from the trivial – many pastors and lay persons go from crisis to crisis, assuming that they must respond immediately to the least important thing; cultivate a sense of what is truly important and must be done now, and what can be done in good time
- Learn to say “no” – many of us say “yes” when we mean “no” and, thus, dissipate our energy and focus; when we are tempted to say “yes” to something we really don’t want to do, remind yourself that you may also be saying “no” to something more important – your prayer life, family, deep relationships, healthy rest
Sabbath rest, finding a deserted place, is an act of trust in God’s care for us and God’s gift of new possibilities. With David, in the reading from 2 Samuel 7:1-14a, we can let go of certain tasks – such as building the temple – in order for others to complete the task. This is an act of faith, in which we trust others and God to be faithful and responsible as well. But, again Jesus is our model. Jesus let go of his need to supervise his followers and lets them take responsibility for the success of his overall ministry. The wisdom of the Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1) is that God gives us space to create new things. God maximizes freedom and creativity and takes the risk that we will come up with something new and different than even God might have planned.
We all need a “spirituality of the summer.” Persons need Sabbaths and so do congregations. One congregation that I know of actually chose to take a sabbatical year and to refrain from new programs in order to experience and rest necessary for their future social and spiritual initiatives.
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Where is your quiet place? Perhaps, today’s sermon should be part of a larger whole – a Christian education seminar on meditation and stress reduction, a time of quiet during the service, and information regarding family Sabbath experiences. Integrating worship, preaching, and concrete application deepens persons’ experiences of faith and provides ready to hand practices that transform their lives.
Bruce Epperly is director of continuing education and professor of practical theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the author of God’s Touch: Faith, Wholeness, the Healing Miracles of Jesus and The Power of Affirmative Faith; and co-author of The Call of the Spirit: Process Spirituality in a Relational World. These titles are available from the Process & Fatih bookstore.
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