In pursuit of rest

Lazy! That was a charge. We had a La-Z-boy chair at home, but being lazy was forbidden. We were a busy family. I had a paper route at age 12, sold Fuller Brush at 15 and worked full-time every summer thereafter. I was a product of the Protestant work ethic, Dutch immigrant culture and Depression Era parents. “Poor” and “lazy” went together.

Sabbath

We had Sabbath traditions, with rules about no work and no fun on Sunday. We were busy with church and family. There was church morning and evening, plus Sunday school. It was busy getting the whole family well dressed and in the car on time, arriving at least half an hour before services. Mom worked before church to prepare the big Sunday dinner. After morning church, we worked to set the table. After the meal, we worked and fought over doing the dishes. Then we cleaned up for the group visiting after evening church. 

We champion the busy

We prize busy-ness. Business leaders are gurus in society. We even elect them in place of lawyers, who know about law and justice. We celebrate those driven to rise to the top of the economic pyramid. Even in retirement, we stay busy. We value Martha over Mary.

Surprisingly, one of the Biblical words for businesspersons is “Canaanites,” often translated “merchants.” The prophets were not fans of “Canaanites” and looked forward to their fall because of their corruption and wealth building (Ez. 27 and Is. 23). Zechariah ends with this vision, which might be behind Jesus’ cleansing of the temple: “And on that day, there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty” (Zech. 14:21). 

Cleansing our temples

Sometimes we need to cleanse our temples, not by more work, but less. Many churches are overly busy. People praise sermons about action and practical steps we must take, but many burn out or check out. Pharisaical moralistic messages also drive people out. 

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” said Jesus. “You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. . . . Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are” (Matt. 23:13-15).

Jesus called the temple to return Isaiah’s inclusive vision: “Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.’ And let no eunuch complain, ‘I am only a dry tree . . .’ These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer . . . for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Is. 57:3,7; cf. Matt. 21:13-14). 

In prayer, we rest 

Let the church be an inclusive house of prayer. In prayer, we stop working and look to God’s work. In prayer, we rest. We rest in God’s presence because God has entered his creation to rest with us. This is what Sabbath is about. This was God’s promise to Moses. “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex. 33:14). Jesus’ invitation is, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).