“You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else!” It’s a line I’ve heard and said for years now; to clergy, to teachers, to…well, everyone who works anywhere. Vocations and occupations can be exhausting to the point of burnout, regardless of the work. No one comes out of working full-time, without taking a break, unscathed. But how do we rest? That seems to be an area of frustration for many—especially American—workers. The U.S. is number 25 in hours worked per week/per worker in the world. Our people are tired, many are underpaid, and many have health issues arise from the constant barrage of needy workplaces. It's difficult to even know how to rest, much less take the time to actually do it. But if we look at the person we admire most, we see that it's possible.
Jesus knew how to rest. If you read closely, Christ repeatedly disappears for snippets of time to go pray, reflect, and take small moments of respite. If God can do it, why can’t we? Why are we so enamored with the idea that over-working is a healthy thing, and something to which we should aspire? Christ healed the sick, rose people from death, and made booze for parties--using river water! Yet, throughout all of that, Jesus rested. God created the world in six easy steps (sarcasm), and then guess what? GOD RESTED. Yet, we are so caught up in our identities at work that, without them, we feel like we're failing. Note: I understand that some people have to work three jobs just to survive--I'm not blind to that, and I understand that there are some who don't have vacation time as an option; who don't get 'sick days' or 'mental health days'. But still, there are moments when even the busiest of us can step away, even for twenty minutes, just to pray and refresh. Just to rest.
Rest is different for everyone, which is kind of funny when people talk about their vacations or moments of respite. For some, a beach is what the doctor ordered—others seek mountains, while even more just simply enjoy being at home and tinkering. One of the most prevalent causes of death in our country is heart disease, if not the most. It’s because we don’t rest enough, we don’t recuperate and seek that regeneration that comes from doing the small things that we always push to the side in the name of work or a busy life. But by doing so, we’re only hurting ourselves. We can become easily irritated, sleep-deprived, lethargic, and even apathetic to our surroundings. Without the rest, the return never happens…
…because we never really left.
If we are to follow Christ, to walk in His ways and abide in Him, shouldn’t we also take moments of peace, times of rest?
I’m lucky to have a vocation that offers me the opportunity to vacate—it’s on me to make that happen. For the first few years, I didn’t do it so well; I’d ‘go on vacation’ but I wouldn’t set my emails to ‘out of office’ and I’d take every call that came through. It wasn’t healthy, it wasn’t helping, and it wasn’t respite. Now, I’ve realized something that I heard a priest say many years ago when I asked her how she did it—how she was able to find time to step away and recharge. Her answer? “The church has been here for thousands of years. Surely it can make it without me for one week.”
That simple statement didn’t sink in until recently. And now, I can’t believe I ever thought any differently.
So, this week, I urge you all to take a look at your calendars. Find that moment to step away, to pray and meditate, or to go drink a beer at the lake. You can’t help anyone, take care of anyone, if you don’t help yourself. With the recent year that we’ve had, and the impending uptick of another potential bout, right now is a good time to step away and recharge…if you can. But whether it’s now or in a few months, take the time—no—make the time to step away and take care of yourselves. Accounting, teaching, engineering, business owning…all that stuff has been around for longer than any of us.
And it will all be there when we get back.
So, go. Take a nap on a Tuesday afternoon. Go. Spend a weekend with your phone off and your eyes on the things you want to do. Go. Rest.
And return recharged for what lies ahead.
Jesus did.
So can you.
Faithfully,
Fr. Sean+