True Confessions: I am a list maker. Yes, I am one of those people. In fact, I probably fit
into the category of one of those “sick” list makers since I derive great
pleasure from scratching things off my to-do list. I actually put easy tasks on
my list just so I can check them off. Who else includes “eat breakfast,” “make
coffee,” “get dressed” or “make
bed” on their to-do lists? Me. I feel like the day gets off to a great start
when I can immediately check several things off my list. Making a list helps me
to feel organized, it helps my day to run more smoothly, and it helps my
sometimes-forgetful nature. Of course, there is a shadow side to these
seemingly helpful lists. This darker side involves creating tasks to add to my
list so I will feel busy and important. Everyone knows that the busier one is,
the more important and valuable they are.
There are several problems with this line of thinking. If
one gains value from their ability to stay busy and accomplish, what happens
when they are no longer able to go and do and be and accomplish? What happens
when a person becomes physically limited by age or a medical condition? Is the
woman who tears a ligament in her ankle and finds her movement limited for
months and months of less value than one who is not injured? Is the man who
finds his strength has been slowly eroded by time of less value than those who
are young and strong? What about the woman who spends weeks and weeks in bed
due to pregnancy complications? Is she a less capable mother than the women who
paint her child’s nursery, assembles their furniture, organize their clothes,
work and attend aerobics classes until that child pops out? This line of
thinking points to our own self-evaluations, our own self-perceptions, our own
ability to love appreciate and accept ourselves, but also to a broader cultural
dynamic and sickness that places “value” on humans based upon productivity/or
the lack there of instead recognizing one another as created in the Divine
image.
This morning, our lectionary kicks off the season of
Ordinary Time by remind us of two important truths. 1) Our value is derived
because we are created by God - in the image of God. 2) God rested.
Have you read the creation accounts lately? Take a moment
and read the poetic account that beautifully personifies God’s presence in the
midst of creation and serves as a reminder of God’s love and care for all
humans: Genesis 1:1-2:4.
And God created
Humankind in God’s own image, in the image of God, God created them; male and
female, God created them.[1]
As people, our value is solely
derived from the fact that we are Godbearers, as Christians, we are little
Christs. This means that our living and being and moving is the light of God in
the darkness, together as community we are the bread and the cup which makes up
the Body of Christ. There is nothing apart from this that gives us greater
value. We only have to accept this is where our value comes from and then live.
If the living part seems daunting to you, do not worry, the Spirit of God lives
in the world and helps us, reminds us, and empowers us. Hello Pentecost!
If our value is no longer derived from our accomplishments
then we are free to let out the breath we have been holding. We are free to
cease from our busyness and rest. We rest inside community when we gather to
worship. We rest in our homes or in the nature that surrounds us, and when we
can bring stillness to our minds, we rest inside our selves. We can put aside
our lists and worries and exhale. We rest because we are not ultimately in charge,
no matter what we say and despite our actions to the contrary, we do not
possess ultimate control. That is God’s job. We must not confuse our role of
Godbearers for actually being the Divine who creates and sustains.
The other night, I woke up at 3:07a. It might have been
earlier than that but it was 3:07 when I finally looked at the clock on my phone. As I lay in bed,
my mind raced from subject to subject worrying and fretting and trying to find
solutions and answers to problems that I cannot solve and questions I cannot
answer. My grandfather always offered the reminder that one should pray during
middle of the night worries but it is quite difficult to pray when one is busy
trying to do God’s job.
As people of God we are quick to talk about the Sabbath. We
are quick to remember the commandment about remembering the Sabbath and keeping
it Holy. Most of our school-aged children can even tell you that on the 7th
day of Creation, God rested. When it comes down to it, we all have our own
little ways in which we wrest control from God. In doing this we heap untenable
burdens onto our own lives and will eventually buckle under their weight.
Perhaps this week, we can practice resting. Perhaps we can
let go of our needs to be and do and control and we can even speak back to that
annoying little voice that pushes us into that unhealthy way of living. It
isn’t easy to rest, it isn’t easy to quiet our minds when we have spend years
practicing a different pattern of living. This is why rest is considered a
Spiritual Practice. We practice it a little every day. We practice it a little
every week and over time we find that our practicing has strengthened our
resting muscles. As our resting muscles strengthen we just might find that our
ability to trust God has increased. For when we practice rest we are also
practicing trust, we are saying “God’s got this covered, God’s got me covered,
and that is more than enough.”
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