Dear Friends,

This week, as part of our school’s in-service day, I led a short retreat on rest for our teachers.

Rest is a great topic for retreat not only because we all want it and it seems so elusive (especially in 2020!), but also because God himself enjoys rest and he wants it for us.

One of the passages of scripture we explored together was Mark 2.27, where Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.” There are two crucial points to consider here:

1. Sabbath rest is for man:
God intends our good when he commands that we “keep holy the Sabbath.” Being made in the image and likeness of God means we take our rhythm of life from God, who himself rested on the seventh day. Sabbath rest paves the way for our full flourishing because it prevents us from living totally for ourselves and our vain pursuits (money, power, pleasure, etc.), and allows us the time and space we need to live for God and his purposes, cultivating gratitude for him and his providential care.

2. Man can make an idol of Sabbath rest:
By making observance of the Sabbath a higher good than humanity itself, the religious rulers of Jesus’ day were using God’s commandments for their own ends. Worship of the Sabbath as a counterfeit god made these people and their followers less merciful (less like God). Ironically, Jesus’ detractors couldn’t restrain themselves from condemning Jesus: their project of self-justification knew no rest!

In our day, we see that plenty of people have made rest an absolute priority. The endless search for satisfaction is eternally frustrated: no entertainments or distractions will do!

Instead, we find rest when we worship - when we make the absolute center of our lives - the God of Sabbath rest. When we live for him and his purposes, whether we work or we play, we find our rest in him.

As Saint Augustine once famously said, "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ