Sleep? At a time like this?

 

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jesus asleep in the back of the boat in the middle of the storm, see Mark 4:38-40.  How did Jesus do that?  I am asking both for the logistics of how Jesus quieted his monkey mind and to learn to stay calm when the world is in chaos.  I am asking because I long to find ways to practice both Sabbath and showing up in places where people are hurting and the vulnerable are exploited.  I am asking because in the boat of my life right now, it can feel like there are lots of people racing and running around demanding that we do something, or that to rest is a luxury for the privileged.  How do we find the back of the boat moments amid the stormy season of our world?  Do we feel called to do that, or is this story something we say will have to wait for another time?  I can be good at procrastinating rest.  I tell myself that after this project, class, writing a sermon, or meeting, I will find the back of the boat.  After this busy season, my mind convinces me, I will find a quiet place to center my soul.  But the busyness, like the waves crashing into that boat where Jesus slept, just keeps on coming.  To follow Jesus is not just an intellectual exercise or study, but to be like Jesus, doing what he did.  Where and when was the last time you metaphorically got in the back of the boat?  Is the back of the boat practice primarily on vacations or weekend getaways?  Or have back-of-the-boat moments been built into the weekly liturgy of your life?  May these four stories of Jesus compel and convince us that rest isn’t being lazy or against God’s call, but central to how God works in our lives every day.  Amen.