You can watch this worship service on Facebook here -
https://www.facebook.com/david.p.charlton.9/videos/10164273670350298
And on Vimeo here -
https://vimeo.com/464783562?fbclid=IwAR2ESz2YoTeQrOgvEQ2VksoueS2DMEc5aCUyiz2A5HkfJRL0Yv0esDz08OQ
This morning, I return to my series of messages What Did Jesus Do? I began this series as an answer to the questionwhat would Jesus do? If we study what Jesus did, it seems to me we can answer much more easily the question what would Jesus do?
The picture on the screen, behind my sermon title, is a scene from Hawaii. Don’t you find it relaxing to look at that picture? Don’t you feel the stress and tension ebbing away as you stare at that beautiful beach? When I was searching for a picture to use for my title slide, I went to Google Images and searched for beach scenes of Hawaii. I scrolled through some of the most beautiful, peaceful pictures of beaches and crystal-clear water I’ve ever seen. As I stared at them, I felt a sense of peace and calm wash over me. It’s no wonder that Hawaii is consistently listed as the happiest state in the country. Who wouldn’t be happy living in such beauty? Unfortunately, my home state of West Virginia comes in dead last on the list of happiest states. Hawaii, not surprisingly for such a beautiful location, has the lowest percentage of adult depression while West Virginia has the highest percentage of adult depression (in case you were wondering, Kentucky comes in at 46th. The ranking was provided by WalletHub, and was released on Tuesday. You can read it here –
https://wallethub.com/edu/happiest-states/6959/)
It was a year ago last weekend that I left church just minutes into my sermon in the 11:00 service to go to the emergency room, where I was diagnosed with exhaustion. I had actually scheduled the topic of this message for last weekend without realizing I had scheduled it for a year from that event. Maybe there was something subliminal going on.
Who is exhausted from everything that has happened this year? We all are exhausted, I believe, as we have stumbled from one difficulty to another, and we still have three months to go!
The events of 2020 are ones that have tried and tested us and they have revealed much about us. They have revealed our character, they have revealed our kindness, and they have revealed our love. But they have also revealed the divisions among us, and those divisions have been made deeper. The difficulties have sought to move us away from kindness and compassion and turn us to fear and recrimination and have sought to move us from the commitment to love and into the realm of spite and hatred.
In normal times, all of us have days when we feel the stress and exhaustion of everyday life. But we have felt a greater sense of exhaustion and weariness this year, and while we express our anticipation for 2020 to end, we also know that is not the end of our struggles. The thought of going well into next year with the pandemic, and who knows what else, weighs heavily upon us.
This morning, we are studying a passage from the gospel of Mark, in chapter one, where we go back to the early part of the ministry of Jesus. My message from this passage is He Took Time to Rest and Recharge. Follow along with me as I read –
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.
31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.
33 And the whole city was gathered around the door.
34 And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.
36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him.
37 When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you."
38 He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."
39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the lessons from this passage –
1. Rest is a spiritual act.
One of the ways I know I need to slow down or take a break is when I have a recurring fantasy – I think about how great it would be to not have to sleep. Has anyone else ever had that thought? I think about all I could get done if I never had to sleep. I think, that would be so great! I could work through the night instead of sleeping! That’s a really weird fantasy, isn’t it?
If you are like most people, you’re probably tired a good deal of the time, but you probably wish for more time, so you can do even more, which in turn will make you more tired than you already are! Living in a 24/7, always-connected, always-on world means we seldom have time – or feel that we can afford to take the time – to rest. An increasing amount of research is beginning to make one thing very clear, and that is the failure to allow our bodies and minds to rest is taking a terrible toll on our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
But we don’t need research to tell us this, do we? We already know we need more rest and more breaks from the stress of modern life. But who has time to rest? The emails, phone calls, texts, and job and family responsibilities keep coming at us, causing us to push harder and harder, with the end result that we are increasingly exhausted and stressed.
Among the many fascinating elements of the ministry of Jesus is his practice of slipping away from the crowds and his disciples for times of quiet reflection and prayer. Interestingly, it seems that Jesus was more likely to slip away when the demands upon him increased and the needs surrounding him were at their greatest. The story in this morning’s Scripture text, of Jesus slipping off by himself, takes place immediately after he was inundated with people seeking to be healed and came at a time when the demands upon him were among the greatest in his ministry. It was the time, his disciples would believe, when he needed to be most available to meet the needs of people. And yet there he was, slipping away quietly in the early morning hours to take the time to pray and to refresh and recharge himself.
Mark writes that very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1:35).
In contrast, here is what we generally do – it is when we are at our busiest that we tend to be leastlikely to take the time to refresh ourselvs physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That is worth repeating – it is when we are at our busiest that we tend to be least likely to take the time to refresh ourselvs physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
When life gets busy and stressful, sometimes the first things we set aside as non-essentials are those things we need the most, such as time alone, time in prayer, time pursuing a spiritual discipline that will put fuel back into our tanks, energy in our steps, and passion in our hearts. Too often, when life gets busy and stressful, we continue to push ahead and charge forward, when we really need to retreat; to retreat into a quiet place where we can refresh ourselves through a time of quiet prayer, reflection and meditation. Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee, wrote Saint Augustine, one of the greatest minds in the history of the church. Augustine understood that our hearts need time for rest and quiet, or else we will fail to withstand the stresses and pressures of life.
2. Resting is a necessity.
When I was in seminary, I often thought about the fact that the schedule was, perhaps, a way to prepare ministerial candidates for a ministry that is often a 24/7 existence. I went to class morning and early afternoon, and then I went to work at my first job until it was time for dinner. I ate a quick dinner and then went to my evening job, which was from 6:00 to 10:00 at night. When I returned home to my apartment it was time to begin studying for the next day. It was a crazy schedule, but it prepared me for a ministry schedule that involved a lot of hours. It also, unfortunately, ingrained in me the idea that I needed to be accomplishing or doing something almost every minute of the day. And, also unfortunately, when your vocation is one that doesn’t have a time clock that tells you when you are done for the day, it’s hard to justify in your mind that you can ever take the time to rest and recharge. I have a hard time sitting and a hard time relaxing, and when I do, I generally feel guilty, as though I am wasting valuable time. And I sense that many of us live this way.
Many of us will run out at the drop of a hat to express care for someone else yet never take the time to care for ourselves. As Jesus told us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we could add that we should care for ourselves as we care for our neighbors.
After a time away – taking time for prayer and solitude – Jesus was most prepared to continue his work of ministry. When his disciples found him and told him, everyone is looking for you, Jesus was ready to go to work. But before continuing the work of ministry, Jesus knew the power of taking time for quiet prayer. After a time away we can sense within him a staunch resoluteness to go about his work.
If Jesus found it necessary to take a break and refuel, who are we to believe we do not?
3. Resting is a reflection of the importance of ministry.
Here is an obvious fact – you don’t have to go searching for people in need, because they are all around us. In fact, if you respond in any way to the needs of people, they will find you! Mark says the whole town of Capernaum gathered at the door of Peter and Andrew’s home. Capernaum wasn’t a huge town, but with a population of about 1,500 people imagine what it would be like if they all showed up at your house, knocking on the door, looking in the windows, stepping on your flowers, and leaving their trash all over the lawn. That would be a little annoying, wouldn’t it? But when people are in need, they don’t care! If they believe you can provide them with the help they need, they will beat a path to your door and then beat on your door! They will also knock down your door, knock over everything in your living room and every other room of the house as they search until they find you, and then they will drain every ounce of your energy as they draw life out of you and into theirs. That’s not being critical or cynical – that’s just reality. When we are overwhelmed with our needs and our sufferings, we don’t generally think about the impact our needs and our sufferings have upon others. So if someone who is in need or is suffering is not thinking about you, you better think about you and make sure there is some fuel in your tank because the work of ministering to others is so important, we don’t need to have people burning out.
People are so hungry for ministry. It was obvious, as so many people came to Jesus, that people were hungry for ministry.
Are you tired and weary? Are you running on fumes? If so, stop. Stop pushing harder and stop, step away, pray, and allow God to help you to rest and recharge.
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