Freedom to Rest
The gods confound the man who first found out
How to distinguish hours! confound him, too,
Who in the place set up a sun-dial
To cut and hack my days so wretchedly
Into small portions!
- Plautus, Roman Playwright, lamenting new technologies, 200 AD
Since the fall of Adam in the Garden, humanity has been fighting itself for healthy living. A big part of this fight is finding a work/rest balance that honors our physicality along with our spirituality. In the past century Americans have seen the average number of hours per night that we sleep drop from nearly 11 hours to 7, while working nearly four more weeks per year than we did in 1979. Compound these numbers with the triumph of the digital "interruption technologies" that have so consumed so many of us, and we find ourselves overworked, overstressed, anxious, and panting with exhaustion as we make our way through life.*
But these current challenges are not unique to our present time. In fact, as YHWH begins to reforge his formerly enslaved, idol-worshipping people, he starts with two key themes: rest and worship. It is these themes that we will focus on this coming Sunday as we look at Exodus 20:22–26; 23:10–19. We may be shocked to find how relevant these 3500 year old words are!
Speaking of worship and rest, what a great week of Magnify! arts and rec camp that we had! About 120 kids and family over the past week walked through the stories of Mary and Jesus and were invited to worship Jesus and rest in him, even as Mary did. Thank you to all who participated, either as campers or volunteers. A special thanks to Debbie and Susan for their leadership. Hopefully all will get the rest they need to recover!
Photo by Lucija Ros on Unsplash