Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 19, 2009
The Gospel: J
Sermon: "Come away and rest"
The Rev. Dr. Vicki L. Smith, Rector
The Gospel: T
J
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - "Come away and rest" July 19, 2009
We are busy people. Statistics show that an exorbitant proportion of our meals are eaten on the run. It’s not a good thing that I know that chicken nuggets are neater for eating in the car than burgers are. We are busy; and we tend to think, uniquely so. Mark’s gospel reminds us that our situation is not so very unique. Two thousand years ago, Jesus urged his disciples to come away and rest because “they had no leisure, even to eat.” That sounds like a description of our times, as much as theirs. And it’s important to note that the disciples were busy with ministry and service—activities that Jesus had asked them to undertake. We are busy with all sorts of things, some of them important and others not: but even when we are busy doing good, important stuff—ministry, service, or providing for our families, even then, Jesus calls us to come away and rest. Even the most extroverted among us need some time for quiet and prayer. Even Jesus, the son of God, closer to the Father than we can possibly be, even he needed time for prayer.
If Jesus needed to pay attention to his relationship with God, certainly we do. Like any other relationship, our relationship with God needs consistent attention and the conversation of prayer is central to that.
Think how much we enjoy talking to and spending time with those we love—whether that is hearing a 3 year old’s silly joke for the 40th time or patiently listening to a 6 year old’s fantasies. Whether it is a convoluted story about work when we don’t even know all the people involved, or a story about childhood that grandma has told every day for the last 10 years, whatever it may be, when we love someone, we rejoice in listening to and talking with them. That’s why we have “check in time” at the family dinner table and phone calls that begin with “how are you, really.” When we care, we nourish our relationships with attention and make them a priority.
Think too, of the frustration the parent feel when their child is going through the “one word answer” phase. “How was school? Fine. What did you do? Nothing.” Our niece is the queen of the one word answer. Recently she was on a trip with alternative spring break and her parents had asked her to check in each time she arrived in an airport to change planes. She did as she was asked: “We’re in Chicago, gotta go.” “We’re in Houston, gotta go.” Only the basic information, with no time for details, questions or conversation.
I often think that God must have the same frustration with us that my sister has with her daughter. “Thanks God, gotta go.” “Help me God, gotta go.” “Keep him safe God, gotta go”--- enough information to minimally keep the relationship going, but no chance for real conversation or real prayer. In our gospel lesson it says that the disciples told Jesus all that they had said and done. Now Jesus probably pretty much knew what they had said and done, but it was important that they tell him. For the sake of their relationship, they told him and he listened. Because we love God and God loves us, we need to make the time for real conversation and real prayer, and we need to make taking that time a priority, because other things will always try to lure us away—we need to remember that our relationship with God is important and can only be nourished by us paying attention to it.
Prayer is the principle way we interact with our God and that is always on our schedule and at our behest. Whenever we choose to pray, God is ready to listen and to converse. The line is never busy; God is never occupied with something or someone else and the connection is always clear. Whenever we choose to pray, God will listen.
Our prayer can be free-form or highly structured. It can be silent or sung. Our prayer can memorized from childhood or created on the spot. Many years ago, when I was a child in vacation bible school, I remember a teacher telling us that we could talk to God just like we talked to each other—we didn’t have to use “thee” and “thou” and fancy words like we read in the prayer book; we could just talk to him. That was an epiphany for me. I had never imagined that I could talk to God, with my simple words and my childish concerns.
We can talk to God with whatever words we choose. Thee and thou, amen or thank you, beautiful phrases or stammering pleas—the important thing is that we talk to God, often. Whatever form of prayer works for us at the time, that’s what we should use. Our conversations with God are what keep us connected to him, and strengthen our relationship with him.
Like the disciples, too often we are too busy even to eat. Jesus urges us to come away, to rest and be quiet, to talk with him, telling him what we have said and done, and hearing from him what he wishes for us.
Perhaps we can regain the sense of urgency that the people of Judea had when Jesus was around. They ran ahead to be there when he got there; they climbed trees to see him and pushed themselves upon him. Our need to be with Jesus is as great as theirs was; perhaps we can regain that sense of urgency and make prayer and conversation with God the priority we need it to be. We love God and God loves us, so let’s talk!