When I was in my 20’s I had a Holy Hour in the Adoration Chapel at HNOJ from midnight to one a.m. I really liked this time slot because I was usually the only one in the chapel, which allowed me to really focus. The only problem with this time slot was that it was at the end of what was usually a 12-14 hour work day in youth ministry with a gap between the end of ministry 10 p.m. and the start of my hour 12 a.m.
One night in particular I was so tired and as I knelt down at 12:02 a.m. in the chapel, I prayed that God would use that hour of prayer in whatever way he desired. The next thing I knew, I was awoken by the sound of the outside door unlocking. I bowed my head reverentially realizing that it was one a.m. and I had slept for my entire Holy Hour.
As I left the chapel and the next adorer settled in, I felt tremendous guilt because I could hear the words Jesus says to Peter in the gospel this Sunday, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” I couldn’t stay awake for one hour with Jesus. Terrible.
Later that week, I was confessing this story to a friend. At the end, he simply said, “You’re wrong.” He went on to explain that I had prayed that God use that hour as he desired and the fact I slept the entire time seemed to indicate that the way he wanted to use it was for me to rest. My friend went on to say that rest and laziness are two, seriously different, things.
Rest is an essential aspect to discipleship. Jesus rested. If we are disciples of Jesus and disciples try and follow the example of the master, then we need to rest too. The problem is that we confuse rest with entertainment, amusement, and the satisfaction of our physical desires. Have you ever gotten back from a vacation and needed another vacation? Me too.
In addition, we can get all turned around on rest. Some people “work for the weekend.” In other words, they act as if the purpose of life is entertainment while work is just what we have to do in order to get to the good parts of life. When one lives like this, their “rest” actually becomes their work. And most of their life is spent doing something they despise.
Both of these traps keep us from actually seeking the kind of rest that we need and desire. When we seek amusement, we often don’t get the rest we need. When our time-off is our focus, it is a slippery slope towards constantly seeking pleasure and serving ourselves. Neither end well.
So how do we rest? It sounds overly simplistic, but the answer really is to rest near to God. The answer, like so many things, is to not only give God our work, burdens, and sufferings, but to give God our leisure, fun, and rest. The second thing that I think helps is actually resting. Turn off everything. Block out some time on Sunday afternoon to really, truly rest. (Don’t be ashamed to nap.)
Live It:
Prayer a blessing over each weekend. On Friday when everyone is home from work or school. Or when you are all in the car heading to whatever. Say a short prayer of blessing over your weekend, asking God to help you rest. Here is an example if you need one:
“Generous and loving God;
We thank you for this week of work and learning.
As we turn our attention to the weekend, we ask your Holy Spirit to come and bless us these next two days.
Be present Lord in our play, relaxation, and rest. Help us to rest in your Spirit so that we may love and serve you with our of our strength. Amen.”
HNOJ Good Word 