Good morning, today we are continuing our sermon series here at RPC, on Identity, finding our story in God’s story. Our Scripture passages come from both the Old and New Testament, starting in Genesis and then the Gospel of Mark. We’ll read in these passages, God and Jesus, both naming and blessing Sabbath – Rest. Blessing it as holy, necessary, and something we are commanded to create space for in our lives. At its core, Sabbath – Rest invites us to experience connection. And that’s what we’re going to unpack and talk more about today… Before we read our passages, I want to share with you something I learned recently, about ‘rest.’ It’s a fantastic word to describe one of my favourite things to do with my family on weekends, or when spending time at our trailer  It’s called hurkle durkle! Hurkle Durkle is a real thing…the origin of this lovely phrase dates back to the 1800s in Scotland and means… “to lie in bed or lounge about long after one should be up and about,” according to the Dictionaries of the Scots  If you haven’t tried it, I’d highly recommend hurkle durkling!  In a fun way, this idea, points to the broader understanding of Sabbath – Rest (apart from seeing it as just one day a week) it becomes a way of life (interwoven into the everyday moments that make up our stories.) When we think of rest on its own, we often think of something that seems passive, a way of numbing out from the world. Sabbath – Rest is actually quite active as we cultivate space for relationship and connection, with God, neighbour and self. As we look at Genesis, chapter 2, verses one to three, we read, So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested[a] from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. God’s creation was complete, and God declares things good – blessing the creatures and humans (in the chapter that precedes this) and now here, blessing the rest itself. Declaring it sacred. In light of God’s blessing of Sabbath, both Christians and Jewish people, set aside a day of the week that is holy, for rest, prayer, worship, family, and other cultural traditions. In Jesus’ time, Sabbath was something the Jewish leaders, monitored and were quite strict about. In fact, there were at least 39 laws around the types of activities that were not allowed on the Sabbath day. We see this play out in our next passage, from Mark, chapter 2, where Jesus is having a discussion with the Pharisees about the Sabbath… 23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” 25 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. Although the Jewish leaders here, believe that Jesus and his disciples are breaking the law, as harvesting grain would have been considered working on the Sabbath day of rest. Jesus responds, by bringing us back, helping us to remember what Sabbath – Rest was originally intended to be. He says, it was made to meet the needs of people and not something to be earned. Rather something that is embedded in the natural rhythm of creation and God’s creatures. I’m old enough to remember a time when most things (other than churches) were closed on Sunday. I think you could still go to restaurants, because I remember having family brunches after church sometimes, but you couldn’t just go to the local grocery store or pharmacy, most things were closed. Growing up, this idea of Sabbath was very much embedded into the rhythms of life. It wasn’t until I moved to Calgary in 1998 and working in retail that I started to have to ask for Sundays off. It was then that I recognized, Sabbath didn’t just happen, it was something I needed to be intentional about. If I wanted to keep the Sabbath rhythm that my family, church and community had instilled in me for so long. A friend was sharing with me this week that if her family had not made it a rule to not watch tv on Sundays, she wouldn’t have had the same family time, that those intentions provided. Instead of watching tv, her and her family would play board games on Sundays and these times of Sabbath – Rest continue to be a source of comfort and blessing to her today. In our passages this morning we read about a God who invites us, to watch and listen as we are shown this rhythm of life that has been there since the beginning of creation. Embedded into our identity, created to share in this Sabbath – Rest, as something needed rather than something earned. As Pastor, Kara Root writes, “God does not create for the sake of creating, God creates to enjoy and relate and connect… Made in the image of God, we are drawn into the rest of God, in fact, commanded to participate in it, in order to remember who God is, and who we are outside of what we do to keep things going.” Genesis 2 doesn’t say if we work hard then we will earn our Sabbath rest. Jesus doesn’t eradicate the law but fulfills it. Rather than a legalistic obligation, Sabbath is a gift of God. This gift reminds me of the Teacher’s words in Ecclesiastes, as he’s searching for the meaning of life, he writes, 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. (Today we might say, happiness is hurkle durkling! ) Now, although Sabbath – Rest is a gift of God and a part of our creation and how we were made to connect with our Creator that doesn’t mean it comes naturally to us. In the beginning, after creation is complete, rather than just a moment for God to take a break and chill. Sabbath is an intentional rhythm that creates space for connection. And although God may be limitless, we are not. No matter how big our capacity to work hard and accomplish a lot, we are human and not God. We do have limits. And maybe God knows that  Now, this was certainly a new thought for those listening to Jesus then and it may be a new thought to those of us listening today. Being intentional rather than seeking to earn Sabbath, also becomes challenging when our North American culture praises the doer and the person who pushes through at all costs – the reward for the hard work is success – not rest. This ‘sleep when we’re dead’ mentality often perceives rest as weakness, laziness, a waste of time or at least, something that is earned. Instead of something that meets our needs. There is nothing wrong with hard work or digging deep during certain seasons of life – alongside the rest, we see this in the Person and Work of Jesus. Yet, in our humanity, it’s rarely sustainable. We are not limitless. And the consequences of living as though we are – is evident throughout the world, in our churches and our own lives. With humanity’s mental, physical and spiritual health, fractured, fragile and riddled with disease. Whether we’re talking about Sabbath as a holy day, set a part each week, or Sabbath – Rest as a way of life, both invite us to consider something countercultural and maybe even counterintuitive. As Walter Brueggemann writes, in his book, Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now, “We used to sing the hymn “Take Time to Be Holy.” But perhaps we should be singing, “Take time to be human.” Or finally, “Take time.” Sabbath is taking time … time to be holy … time to be human.” Amen. As an aside (sorry but I find this so fascinating ) Not only our identity but how we were created as human beings reflects the need for Sabbath – Rest. We were created with 2 nervous systems – a sympathetic and parasympathetic and these nervous systems have contrasting roles. The sympathetic nervous system sends signals to your brain that put your body and mind on alert, this is our survival mode. We need this so we don’t just walk out into traffic, instead we aim to stay alive, in a very primal sense. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system sends signals to the brain that it’s ok to rest. Both systems aim to bring balance to the body. New research shows that 80% of the information sent to our brain comes from the body. So, if you take a deep breath, this physical action let’s your brain know, it’s safe to rest, even if just for as long as it takes to breathe deeply. So, if we are stressed and always on high alert, focussed on the work and what needs to get done, it stands to reason our minds are paying the price, both individually and collectively. Rather than neglecting one over the other, the systems of the body were created to work together for the flourishing of the whole person. We are created for work and service, and we are created for Sabbath and rest. Now, as nice as Sabbath – Rest may sound, this is not easy stuff. In fact, a lot of the time, it can feel impossible. There is so much to do. Many pressing needs in our world, churches and own communities. If I don’t do the work or meet those needs, or you don’t, then who is going to do the work? For so much of my own life, I have lived as a ‘doer’ with these feelings, that Sabbath – Rest was a nice thought. Something I knew I definitely needed but could not afford. Time is too precious and the needs too great. And if I’m really honest, I started to believe that the more I could do, especially in the name of Jesus, then the more I’d be loved and accepted and really making an impact in God’s kingdom. This way of thinking and being in the world accomplished many things but it also came at a cost. Mentally and emotionally, I was riddled with anxiety. Physically my body got sick and spiritually I was depleted. I could point to God’s goodness and faithfulness in other’s stories, but I was too busy to see what was happening in my own. In July of 2020, through a cancer diagnosis, I was forced into Sabbath – Rest, although I didn’t know it, nor would I have called it that at the time. What I do remember is going to my employer and very logically and seemingly in control, saying, I’ll have surgery in August and start looking at gradually coming back to work throughout the fall. Well, that didn’t happen. It would be 8 months before I could even consider these gradual steps back. Nor was I going back as the same person, as though nothing had happened and somehow, I could just start back where I had left off. Now of course, I could have done that but then I wouldn’t be sharing this message on Sabbath with you this morning. Instead, I would have gone back to the cycle of anxiety and illness I was creating and thought Jesus expected of me. God did not give me cancer so I would experience Sabbath – Rest – this is not about condemnation, it’s an invitation. An invitation to be human and to know ourselves loved as human. It’s an invitation to rest with the One who is Holy. Whether we do the work we think is needed or not – if it’s something God wants to get done, it’ll get done with the people God chooses. We will never let God down by going first to sit at the feet of Jesus, whether that’s literally stopping or actively doing Sabbath – Rest in the midst of life and what is going on. In Sarah Bourns Crosby’s Prayer, What If God? She wonders about many things and one of the questions she asks, I think, gets at the heart of what we’re talking about today. Halfway through the prayer she asks… What if God desires my presence and my rest – even more than my obedience and selflessness? When I first read this prayer and these words in particular, I wept. This very much sums up the journey Jesus and I have been on for the past 4 years. And it has taken a great deal of intention to learn and move towards living this as a way of life. I’ve resisted it. I’ve justified the busyness. I’ve gotten angry at the process of change. Even pleading with God to give me more capacity to do more. And each time, God’s answer to me is the same… (feel free to insert your own name here…as it feels appropriate) Cari, you know what I love even more than all these good things that you’re doing? I love you! And what if, what you’re ‘doing’ (especially in My name) isn’t something transactional but relational and lived out from this place of connection? What if this way of being is lighter than the long list of expectations you’ve put on yourself (some real, some perceived) even the ones you think are from Me? (Thank you for being vulnerable with me, this is hard stuff!) What God keeps asking me to consider is what would it look like being with Me? (first and foremost) God is not saying, the ways I (or any of us) work and serve is wrong, it’s about the ordering and a re-ordering. What is being prioritized and is it still serving you, God or anyone else at this time? Or is the quieter space of Sabbath – Rest what is needed right now? Time for discernment and decision making. Time for listening and being heard. Time to pause from the doing and learn to be as God has ordained and created you to be. Often in our state of anxiousness things become blurry and confusing. When we slow down, catch our breath and calm our hearts and minds, we see things in ways we wouldn’t have. In both the gifts and challenges, we start to notice the ways our story is interwoven in God’s story and vice versa. More good news…God in Jesus not only invites us into this radical way of life but shows us what Sabbath – Rest looks like. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 11, we read Jesus saying, 28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” If this feels like a radical shift (like it did for me), start small… Maybe it’s when you first wake up – before jumping out of bed to keep things going – first say hi to the day – say hi to God – say hi to yourself – ask for a blessing on the day – sensing connection, and that you’re not alone. Just a moment of Sabbath can grow into many moments and maybe even seasons. Maybe you enjoy a time of devotion each day, is there a way this can be more about presence and rest than of obedience and selflessness. What would that look like in your story? Maybe you’re ready to consider practices like meditation and prayer. I’d invite you to check out Pastor Cari online  where you’ll find many guided practices that are meant to bring connection and rest with God, neighbour, and self. Maybe you’ve been wondering about setting aside a day each week to commune with God and others. To unplug, worship and be with family. There’s no right or wrong. Sabbath – Rest in an ongoing invitation to walk with Jesus and watch how he does it. A place of deepest connection, as you rest in the arms of your Creator. I’m going to close now by reading, the whole prayer by Sarah Brouns Crosby, entitled, What If God. I invite you to close your eyes or follow along with me as the words will be on the screen. And if you find yourself shedding a tear or two as we pray together…that’s completely ok… I’ll have copies of the prayer at the front of the stage, you can take one at the end of the service to help guide you into spaces of Sabbath this week. Collectively, bringing to God, our presence and rest, may we pray… WHAT IF GOD, By Sarah Bourns Crosby What if God doesn’t want as much from me as God wants for me? What if God wants to love me more than to use me? What if God likes the way I was made? What if God wouldn’t have me any other way? What if God isn’t mad or mean? What if God is exceedingly compassionate toward my needs? What if God expects less of me that I expect of myself? What if God isn’t comparing me to anybody else? What if God cares more about who I become than what I believe? What if God invites me trust myself and be who I was created to be? What if God desires my presence and my rest Even more than my obedience and selflessness? What if God is curious about how I feel? What if God asks where it hurts and if I want to be healed? What if God delights in my desires and dreams And doesn’t intend to take them away from me? Yes What if God is better than I ever knew? What if I’m deeply loved, the whole way through? What if there’s nothing to earn and nothing to prove? And What if That’s absolutely True For you Too? In Jesus name we pray, Amen.