God Blesses Rest
Pentecost + 11 – August 25,
2019
“Sabbath for God”
To-Do List vs. Ta-Da!
List
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Podcaster, Gretchen Ruben, studies, writes about, podcasts about
productivity and habits and happiness
·
“Try this at home” segment
o The never-ending to-do list,
in which we often add and add and add – and maybe get great satisfaction out of
crossing things off the list, and yet still come to the end of the day with a
mind full of all that we did not get done
o Some research that says we
tend to remember all of the unfinished tasks rather than what we did actually
accomplish
o And so – in addition to the
to-do list, she suggests creating a “Ta-Da! List”
§
Keeping track of all of the many and various things we do get done –
esp. the less tangible things that wouldn’t be on a to-do list to begin with
§
To look back and celebrate how we have spent our time
God’s to-do list vs.
God’s Ta-da list
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The first chapter of Genesis, which leads up to our verses for today is
kind of a looking back over God’s to-do list for creation
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All familiar with this ancient story of how God created everything
o In the beginning, when God
created the heavens and the earth
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Love this litany of God’s creative work
o And God said… and God saw
that it was good
o Let there be light; let
there be a dome to separate the waters from the water (Sky); Let the dry land
appear (Earth and Seas) – and let the earth put forth vegetation: plants
yielding seeds, and fruit trees of every kind
o Let there be lights to
separate the day from the night – Sun, moon, and stars!
o Let the waters bring forth
swarms of living creatures – so God created the great sea monsters and every
living thing that moves with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of
every kind
o Let the earth bring forth
living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of
every kind (is this where mosquitoes come in? D wants to know why God
created mosquitoes in the 1st place!)
o And finally, God created
humankind in God’s image, male and female, and blessed them
o God said, and it was so
o And God saw everything that
God had made, and indeed, it was very good.
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That’s quite a to-do list! A marathon of work
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When you stop to think about the amazing-ness of creation – wow!
o D super into animals of
all kinds – books/magazines/kids' TV shows about animals
o And I learn with him, and
I’m blown away by the diversity of what exists; by God’s imagination in making
all of the wild and wonderful and weird creatures that exist (hippos and rhinos
and anteaters and that fish in the midnight zone with the bio-luminescent thing
that hangs just out in front of its mouth to lure prey there…)
o Just this overwhelming,
incredible, tremendous abundance of plants and animals and colors and all
designed to work in harmony together in these intricately interwoven,
interconnected ecosystems
o Wow!
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“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.
And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on
the seventh day from all the work that he had done.” - kind of an anticlimactic description of all that had just taken place. :)
o Whew! No wonder God rested!
God deserved a break!
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A chance to look back over the ta-da list! To rejoice! To celebrate! To
enjoy what God had made – to simply relax and let it be what God had created it
to be
o Because even God’s identity
is not defined solely by what God does and what God can produce
o God doesn’t exist just to create, but to enjoy and relate
and connect to that creation
o Think about me and my kiddos
– and how can we connect with one another when I’m always busy doing “work”
§
The “in-a-minute”, or “just let me finish what I’m doing” syndrome –
and by the time I get done whatever was oh-so-important, they’re on to
something else
§
God takes the time to rest and be present in a different way, to
interact on a new level
To-do lists are
important, but so is the ta-da list
·
How often do we get caught up in our to-do lists (mental or written
down) – and miss the “ta-da”s – the opportunities to enjoy and celebrate the
point behind all of the work?
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Created in God’s image – designed to create and tend
o Get in the zone – cooking,
baking, painting, gardening, “sports-ing” (hahaha; running or walking or
biking); writing, drawing, dancing, knitting – whatever it is
o Recognizing we don’t do
those things simply for what the end result is, but b/c we also enjoy the
activity just for itself
o But also in God’s image –
created to take rest;
§
That rest is woven into the fabric of creation from the very beginning (seasons - productivity of summer turning into the rest of fall and winter; animals hibernating, etc)
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It’s God’s invitation for us to look over all of our work, to celebrate
the ta-das and recognize that we too, deserve a break
§
All of that creative energy and hard work has to be renewed somehow!
o The invitation from Jesus to
abide in his love centered in this idea of rest (John 15)
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Of trusting that we are enough, that God will provide all that we need
for that day
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Great image from Pr. Cheri: of a parent sleeping with an infant on their
chest
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Both resting, abiding in one another – connected, safe, cherished; just
being with one another and that love flowing even in sleep; that even resting, God does not cease to take care of us
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The blessing of sabbath rest – to imitate God’s example, to set aside
the to-do list and enjoy the ta-das of what has already been done and to abide
in God’s love as a child sleeping on their parent’s chest, knowing you are
beloved, protected, loved just for being who you are
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May we know this kind of sabbath rest.
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Amen.
