GOT RHYTHM?

Dr. Richard J. Henderson February 8, 2009

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Psalm 62:5-12
Mark 1:14-20

Introduction

Have you ever worked to the point of exhaustion? Maybe you worked in the yard all day and didn't realize how tired you were until you came inside, late in the afternoon, and sat down. Suddenly, you realized that you could hardly get back up from your chair. Muscles began to scream and you had trouble straightening up your back. You were exhausted.

Exhaustion may not be just from physical work. Maybe you spent two days in Dallas in a series of difficult meetings and then you were home for a day and then you flew out to Minneapolis for more meetings and then you were off to Kansas City. It isn't physically draining sitting in a chair in a meeting, but the whole experience just saps you of your strength.

You can also be emotionally exhausted. When emotionally demanding events happen, whether good or bad, they drain your strength. The mother of the bride is exhausted after her daughter's wedding. The son is weary after his father's funeral. I remember once, and it was only once in my ministry, that I had a wedding, a funeral, and a baptism all in the same weekend.

Several years ago I saw a scale that rated stressful experiences that people go through. Each of these events was rated with a point value to it. There were things like "you got married," "you moved to a new location," "you were laid off from your job," "a family member died," "you had a baby," and "you went on vacation."

The events listed were both bad experiences and good experiences. Some of the good experiences had a higher point value than some of the bad experiences. You were to read through the list and indicate which of them you had experienced, and then add up your total number of points.

A lower number was a level of stress you could handle normally; the higher the number, the more likely you were to have stress-related illnesses or even an emotional breakdown. The tool was an interesting way to show the different kinds of stress we have to deal with and the effect it can have on us.

I have a pastor friend who gets severe migraine headaches whenever he pushes too hard. Then, he's in bed for a couple of days. He says it's his body's way of telling him to stop.

I

Think of how exhausted Jesus must have been on this day we read about in our New Testament reading. Jesus goes to the house of Peter's mother-in-law and finds that she is sick with a fever. He goes to her and heals her, and she gets up and begins to serve her guests. Later that day, maybe because people hear about what Jesus did, people come to the house with all kinds of illnesses to be healed. As word gets out, more people come until there is a huge hoard of people clamoring at the front door, begging to be healed of their diseases. Mark says, "The whole city gathered around the door." I picture people crowding to get in the door, climbing in through the windows, whatever it takes to get to the one who can make them well.

Jesus faces each one who comes to him; he talks to all of them, touches them, and makes them well. He sends out a person whole and healed, but there are ten more waiting for the same healing touch.

Each one of those healings takes something from Jesus. Healing has a price. Jesus' healing isn't an easy exercise; each one draws energy from him.

At the end of that day, did Jesus collapse exhausted? Was he completely spent from such difficult physical and emotional work?

The tiring work of Jesus' ministry was brought home to me in a powerful way in the movie, "Jesus Christ Superstar." The film shows Jesus healing the clamoring crowds all day long and at the end of the day he is completely exhausted. He sits with his disciples almost unable to move. The scene reminded me that Jesus is not only fully God, but fully human as well.

II

Then, the next morning, long before the sun even thought of rising, Jesus gets up and goes out to a deserted place alone. Mark tells us, "It was still very dark." Out in the wilderness in that silent darkness, Jesus prays. He quietly talks with God.

After the enormous demands of healing people for a full day, Jesus goes out alone in the quiet to pray. This is healing time: a quiet, peaceful time to be renewed with God. It is physical therapy, emotional therapy, and probably relational therapy as well.

Have you had moments like that - quiet, peaceful, healing times alone; times of stillness when you could talk to God as your closest friend? You're not doing anything, not accomplishing anything, not checking items off your "to do list," and not working at anything. You're just sitting there. And yet, so much is happening. If you've had moments like that, you probably remember them.

III

For me, this experience points to the importance of rhythm in Jesus' life. He worked hard; he healed people; he gave himself completely, and then he pulled back and rested and healed and talked to God. He taught, preached, healed, and then he stopped and was quiet. He was with huge crowds of people, and then he was completely alone. He was active with loud, boisterous, clamoring people, and then he sat in silence. He gave himself to others, and then he rested and prayed. There is a rhythm there.

This reminds us of what Sabbath is all about. We are given work to do, but we are also given an entire day for rest. It is a gift from God, a time to relax, refresh, and renew ourselves. The rhythm of work and rest is built into the order of life God has given us. We neglect God's gift to our own detriment.

Conclusion

We can learn from this example of Jesus. We can balance our work with rest and play; we can have a rhythm of time with people and time alone; we can enjoy the loudness of fun and excitement, but make time for silence, reflection, and prayer. Give yourself to other people - that's very important - but balance it with time caring for yourself. Be active, but have time for quiet and conversation with God.

What seems to be most important is to have a sense of rhythm about what we do - to have an ebb and flow of different, often opposite, kinds of experiences. And enrich them all with prayer.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2009