We have talked a lot about the need for rest…the main way we see that spoken of in the Bible is Sabbath rest – one day in seven, one year in seven.

In Judaism, this was very structured and supported by cultural and societal norms.  Jesus’ approach seemed to be to peel away the layers of societal and cultural norms, all the rules that had been developed over the years, and simply return to the God-given command to rest on the seventh day.

This was his usual routine – where humans focus on actions, in hopes that it will change hearts, Jesus wants to focus in on the heart.  Jesus wants to mold hearts to want to know and follow him, and where that then transforms their actions.

This makes taking Sabbath rest both easier and harder.

It’s harder, because just blindly following rules isn’t all that hard, especially when everyone else in society follows them as well.

It’s easier because of the freedom we explored last week…freedom from slavery to rules, replaced by a new kind of obedience, to a person rather than a code.  Jesus gives rest from enforced rest – he gives true rest.

We can see it in how Jesus handled the crushing demands of his own work: Mark 6:30-32 ESV

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

He took rest when he needed it, we have several examples of unstructured rest that he took “regularly”.  When I found I’d been sitting too long at an office job, I used to go for a walk around the block from my office.  I called it my sanity walk.  Or at other times, I would just get up and do something different.  Working from home, I might empty the dishwasher, then get back to my computer refreshed from the change of pace.

We also see Jesus taking weekly rest.  “He went to synagogue to worship on the seventh day.  When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.”

It was Jesus’ “custom” to take weekly Sabbath rest according to the rules of his father in heaven, and not according to the rules of the Pharisees.

We also see Jesus living with an annual rhythm.  He celebrated the annual feasts – we see him attending Passover in Jerusalem, for example. As he travelled to and from various religious festivals, there are ebbs and flows in his energy and work – the big moments in his ministry regularly coincide with major festivals.  Sometimes he is in small towns, sometimes in the city.  There were intense times and places and low times and places in his culture…and his ministry needed both.

The Bible also commands a year of rest after six years of work – not to lay around, but let the land lie fallow and improve, and let slaves and debts go free.  There was also a command that every 50 years, a complete reset and leveling of the playing field should occur.  Unfortunately there is no evidence they ever listened to and observed these.

Let’s not let the same thing happen to us!

Question: What rest can you plan for today?  This week?  This year?  Now dream a little bit – what could a “reset” year look like this decade?  What about for the whole of your life?

Ryan Sim - September 1, 2015

Tuesday - Study It - Inner Rest

A friend of mine had a baby recently – and her husband took a week or so off before heading back to work. I asked him how it was going. He said, work is alright, but it’s different now . I just don’t find it matters as much as it used to. I won’t quit or anything, but it just seems less important to me. True enough. My friend still needs to work, but there is a new member of his family who is far more important than every possible promotion, raise or accolade. We all need this kind of shift in perspective – not by all going and having a kid – but by inviting God to be at the center of our lives. When there is no ultimate goal or concern in our lives, or that varies day to day, or simply becomes whatever is most urgent, busyness consumes us. We can’t stop it or get away from it. If God is the ultimate center of our lives, then everything else falls into place around Him. James, who we interviewed a couple weeks ago was consumed by the lifestyle his lucrative career could buy, and lost himself. In the end, he quit, took a break, and eventually came back – but able to see that work wasn’t everything. You can watch the video again by clicking "Extra" or here: https://vimeo.com/72458543 He and my friend with the baby both realized they were enslaved to their work, sometimes without even realizing it. This kind of slavery to work is something God wanted to prevent Israel from ever experiencing again, or inflicting on anyone else. In Deuteronomy 15:1-2 and Deuteronomy 15:12-15: “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor.” “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. We’ve heard a lot about the Sabbath day so far, but this introduces the idea of the Sabbath year where Israel was meant to release every debt, and release every person who was so indebted they had sold themselves into slavery. Why? Because God had released their nation from slavery, and this would be a constant reminder. Every week, a day off, and every 6 years, a year off for crops and for the lowest servants. This would be a clear sign they were not worshipping work, but worshipping God. That same act of liberation needs to be in our rest. We need to tell ourselves we are resting to prove we are not slaves to our employers, to our bank accounts, to our pride or anything else. We are children of God, not defined by work. There is more to me than my work. This inner shift has to come before we try making outer, structural changes to our weeks and years, like we’ll discuss next week. Question: What would it take for you to see your work differently? What could change for a year, or what life event, would break the cycle?

From Series: "Work and Rest"

Just in time for summer's blend of work and rest, Redeem the Commute is starting a new series of daily challenges to help busy people restore life to the commuting lifestyle. This seven week series will look at the meaning and purpose of work, rest, and ancient practices that have helped followers of Jesus to keep the two in perspective and balance for centuries.

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