The BluePrint - First, Rest

Well, everybody, like I said, my name is Greg

Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here. I'm one

of three pastors here. Pastor Marissa and Pastor

Jen, if you don't mind praying for them this

week, they are currently in Greece. For many,

many years, Pastor Jen has also done ministry

with something called One Collective. It is a

global missionary organization. And whenever

the missionaries from a region get together and

have like a conference for them to grow with

each other, Jen goes and actually creates. the

programming for all of the students and so she's

done that as long as I've known her she has now

seen a lot of these kids grow up she has gone

to their weddings she's had them come and stay

here with her there's actually I think a student

at Augustana right now that is one of those kids

and so it's just really cool to see that I'm

sure she would love to tell you about if you

ever feel like you'd like to go with her and

so just be praying for them as they are in Greece

not Not sightseeing, not just sightseeing. I'm

sure they'll see a couple sites. And if you want

to know about sites, ask Andy, because Andy knows

about all the sites. All right. So last week,

Pastor Jen started the Blueprint series with

a message about why a plan of discipleship might

be helpful at all in the first place. So just

a quick... Show of hands, when you get something

new that has to be built or put together, show

of hands, you are the person that uses the instruction

manual. Anyone? Okay, look around. These are

the people that you will need someday, right?

You will need some of these people someday. But

I wonder if some of us watch the instruction

manuals like this. Grace, will you click on that

video? Let's see if it works. There you go. Is

this how you read the instructions? know how

many times I have taken the wrapper off of a

pizza to put the pizza in and thrown everything

away just to then realize I have no idea how

long I'm supposed to leave this thing in there.

And I've done that exact thing. I have to admit,

though, that as I have gotten older, the more

I find myself using the actual manual or instructions

that comes with something, which goes against

every fiber of my Gen X DNA. I was born in 1978,

and when I was a kid, they gave every kid a manual

for how to live the rest of their lives. You

opened the cover on the front page, and bold

lettering, it said, figure it out yourself, kid.

And every other page was empty. That is how we

grew up. We figured it all out. There was no

YouTube. There was no... World Wide Web, there

were no computers. In our homes, we had no cell

phones. If you did not know how to do something,

you either had to have enough money to pay someone

to do it for you, or you figured out how to do

it yourself. If you tell someone from my generation,

hey, I think you might need a plan for this,

all we hear is, you don't think I can do this,

do you? That's all we hear. I'm wired to my core

to just figure it out. I can just figure it out.

And so I've had to resist that programming in

following Jesus. And what I've found is that

over the years, I can look back and see that

my deepest seasons of growth have been when there

was far more intentionality than in other seasons

of my life. Now, the good news. About the blueprint,

this idea that we have is that whether you love

instructions or whether you are someone that

just wings it, the first page of this discipleship

plan will give you the time to be ready for the

rest of the steps. Because the first page of

this plan is just called rest. You open this.

First page, bold letters, one word, rest. And

so today we're going to do a couple things a

little bit differently. One will be later, but

this is the first one is that every week normally

as we read the scriptures in the context of a

sermon, we ask you to give it obviously your

full attention, but to stand as you are able.

But today I just do not want you to sit. I want

you to sit. I want you to make yourself comfortable.

Put your body in a restful position. Leave your

Bibles where they are. I promise I will read

the scriptures. You can tune your ears to hear

the word of the Lord. You can close your eyes

if it is helpful, but you don't have to. But

let's tune our ears to the word of the Lord,

and we'll see where it goes. This is Psalm 127,

Psalms 127:2

verse 2. It is five translations combined together.

Psalm 127 says, it is vain for you to rise early.

It is vain to retire late. It is vain to eat

the bread of anxious labors. For the Lord enjoys

giving rest to those he loves. He provides for

his beloved. He gives sleep to those he loves.

He gives blessings to his beloved. Yes, he provides

for those whom he loves, even when they sleep.

Let us pray. God of every tribe, every tongue,

every color, and every nation, we thank you for

the scriptures. We thank you for this psalm that

has existed for millennia. We pray that whatever

you have for us today, that it would stick. that

it would become a part of the framework of our

faith, that our faith would grow, become deeper,

as we become more like your son, Jesus. Amen.

It is vanity to rise early, to retire late, to

eat the bread of anxious labors, for the Lord

provides even while you sleep. I thought about

just reading those words over and over again

for 30 minutes. And then the part of me that

said, no, they will think you didn't do your

job. That guy didn't write a sermon. He just

read the scriptures the whole time. But I'm convinced

that the world does not want you to rest. Whatever

world you're in, whether you're in school, a

job, whether you're retirement age. There's still

so much about this world that does not want you

to rest, does not want you to relax. The systems

that we've created do not want you to stop. They

want you to work harder. They teach us, actually,

to resent others when we see them receive rest.

Matthew 20. Jesus tells a parable, a story about

the kingdom of God. And he says the kingdom is

like a landowner that goes out in the morning

to find some people to work in the vineyard.

And he says, this is what I'll pay you at the

end of the day. And then throughout the day,

he goes and he keeps finding more people to bring

back throughout the day. And then you get to

the end of the day. And it turned out that no

matter how long that you had worked, whether

you had been the first one there or the last,

a full day, half day, or maybe even just the

last hour, when you got to the end, Jesus says

the landowner paid all of them the exact same

thing, a full day's pay. And as you can imagine,

because we exist in systems that do not want

others. To receive rest or receive something

that we don't think that they deserve. As you

can imagine, the people in this story that had

worked all day long were pretty angry. But here's

the twist. Remember, Jesus isn't talking about

money. He's telling a parable. They're not just

angry about they got paid the same. They're angry

because he made them their equals. Listen to

what it says, Matthew 20 and verse 12. It says,

they complained, they only worked one hour, and

you have made them equal to us who have borne

the burden of the work and the heat of the day.

Those people didn't work as hard as we did. Why

should they get as much as we did? Why should

they be equal to us? Not only did they not...

Work is hard. They did not suffer as much. We

bore the work of hard labor. We bore the burning

sun all day long. Some of these people got here

after the sun had already been highest in the

sky. They got here an hour before it was going

to be time to rest. Again, the story isn't about

money. The story isn't really even about work.

It's about the kingdom. And in the kingdom, what

you get as that reward or that pay or that gift

is rest. So their real complaint is, why would

God give this person that showed up late the

same rest that I have earned? Jesus tells other

parables, and he describes people entering into

the fullness of God's glory, and what does he

say? Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Enjoy the presence of the Lord. Enter the joy

of the Lord. The end of the day is rest. Rest

isn't a paycheck. Rest isn't a reward for work

well done. Rest, as it turns out, is actually

a gift. We know that it's a gift because he's

willing to give it to people that didn't work

all day. The story of the Israelites tells us

that after being rescued from their slavery in

Egypt, that God gave the Israelites the gift

of Sabbath. They had been enslaved for hundreds

of years. And then they go and they wander for

40 years, but what didn't they do for 40 years?

They didn't have giant farms. They didn't have

to build houses. There was no traditional work.

They were learning who God said they were, and

they were learning to walk closely with him,

and they were learning how to rest. But that

rest, that gift of rest came in the form of a

commandment. Exodus 20 verse 8 says, remember

Exodus 20:8

the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And I think

that we have this allergy to commands. And I

think it's fair. Sometimes we have an allergy

to commands. And so it's hard for some of us

to hear that a commandment is a gift. But there's

something freeing. about receiving God's commandment

to us as a gift for us. Think about it. If I

want to do A, B, and C, and someone else is pulling

me in another direction to do X, Y, and Z, but

I have been given the commandment of R, E, S,

T, everything else, it's all going to be there

tomorrow. It is a gift to be able to let go.

It is a gift to be able to say, that will still

be there. It is a gift to say that God has not

only commanded it, but because it is a commandment,

it frees me from all of the other things I would

convince myself are why I can't. I can't rest

today. There's water in my basement. But this

is what it also means. Rest being a gift also

means that no one can tell you that your rest

is laziness. No one can tell you that your rest

is laziness. Let that sink in. Rest is actually

the opposite of laziness. Rest is a lesson in

resistance. Rest is permission for resistance.

Do you know who hates rest? Pharaohs hate rest.

Slave drivers hate rest. People looking at the

bottom line that haven't made enough in their

portfolio hate rest. Dehumanizers hate wasted

time. They despise meandering and frivolity.

They hate the quieted. They hate the rested.

They hate the peaceful. Psalm 127 tells us that

it is vain for you to rise early. That it is

vain to retire late. It is vain to eat the bread

of anxious laborers. Why? Because the Lord enjoys

giving rest to those he loves, even while they

sleep. You have permission. You have permission

to resist the way that our systems literally

enslaved people for hundreds of years and continues

to try to enslave so many now. You have permission

to resist that. You have permission to resist

the way that it would use you up until there

was nothing left. You have permission to stop

before you have gotten to beyond exhaustion.

You have permission to take the advice of Shannon

in her prayer about learning that if you just

work and work, you will have nothing left to

give. And then some of us, we need to repent

of believing we don't need rest, maybe. Or we

need to repent of being the workers that worked

all day thinking that we're better than the late

arrivals. We need to let go of the anger that

we feel when others receive rest. We need to

ask, why are we so bothered by that? Why are

we so bothered that they're late? Too much of

the world has been built and maintained on the

backs of those that have already carried too

much. But there is a gift waiting for us. It's

already here. One of my favorite verses is Jesus

saying, come to me all who are weak and weary

and I will give you rest. Burden is easy. My

yoke is light. The other thing that I wanted

to do that was different today is lead us in

some rest. There's a book up here called Black

Liturgies by an author called Arthur Riley. If

before you leave you feel like you need this

book, you can have this book or you can borrow

it. It's up to you. Cole has written all these

liturgies for different things that are important

in life. And one of the things that they've written

a chapter and a liturgy for is rest. And so I

actually just felt compelled to lead you through

the prayers of the liturgy that Cole wrote about

rest. And how we're going to do that is I'm going

to read a prayer, and then I'm just going to

give you silence to rest in that prayer. So let

the Holy Spirit speak to your heart about what

this prayer has said, whether it be convicting

or comforting or counseling. Let it direct you.

I want to encourage you to make yourself comfortable.

This is going to take about 15 minutes. And this

is the beginning for some of us, the beginning

of going, okay, I can rest. I can find my way.

I can let go of everything I told myself that

I had to do. I can... Let go of the expectations

that others have put on me or I can just breathe

deep. So here we go. Receive this liturgy of

rest. First prayer for boundaries. God of boundaries,

remind us that sometimes we need to walk away

from people and situations for our own rest and

survival. That when the demands of the world

grow loud, we have full agency to choose silence

and peace. The stories we tell ourselves about

why we cannot do so are often grounded in guilt.

A guilt that has been carefully implanted by

a society that believes we are products to be

used and consumed. We've been pushed and pulled

out of ourselves and our own desires. Grant us

the courage to say no without apology, that we

would meet the demands of this world with truth

-telling and self -charity, knowing that our

boundaries are holy ground. We will not survive

by inching further and further away from safety.

Show us that sometimes the boundary we fear setting

marks the border between freedom and bondage.

Be with us. on the journey back to a solid voice.

When we speak no, let it shatter chains. For

when rest feels like a risk, rest it, God. We

want more than a life lived exhausted. That you

have woven healing rhythms of rest into our minds

and bodies reminds us we are worthy of habitual

restoration. Keep us from apologizing for our

own healing. That we would know. That when we

pause or rest, we are restoring not only our

own bodies, but the very condition of a world

held captive by greed and utility. We grow weary

of societies who view us as more machine than

human, more product than soul. The fear that

we won't survive without overworking stalks our

days. Liberate us from the depraved socioeconomic

structures. that require that the poor and vulnerable

sacrifice their own rest at the altar of survival

and opportunity. Protect us from fear as we rest

with you. Breathe with us as we breathe with

you. Remind us that the beauty and paradox of

our humanness is that we were made to close our

eyes, that we might see. May it be so. for insomnia.

God of the long night, every part of us is weary.

The fatigue from sleepless nights is too much

for us to hold. We are desperate to rest, yet

it feels impossible to access. We have endured

critique, unsolicited advice and judgment from

those who insinuate we are to blame for our exhaustion.

Keep us from any guilt that we are unable to

care for ourselves the way that we want to. Meet

us in our bodies tonight that we would become

protectors of their needs in a world that does

not always understand them. Meet us in the stillness

that we would become so acquainted with quiet

that in it we could perceive your tenderness

and love. Help us to reimagine what rest could

look like for us, opening us to other forms of

relaxation and meditation. Stay up with us, God,

that even when rest seems so cruelly off course,

we would be assured that the divine is near to

us. Wait up with us until rest finds its way

home. For those who have forgotten how to play,

God of levity, grant us a rest that permeates

our waking hours. Mark our days with the recreation

and playfulness of our youth. Restore to us the

energy for mischief and creativity and competition

that we've lost as we've gotten older. Put people

in our lives who inspire us in our play. Game

nights, karaoke, gardening, film. We want more

than the binary of work and sleep. We want delight

in the in -between. Those moments of interior

rest that can happen while we're awake. Show

us what forms of entertainment and what hobbies

lead us into peace. And protect us from the lie

that if we are awake, we should be working. Remind

us that a light heart is not a heart that lacks

depth. That our play does not negate our grief.

Let us rest in the way we need to today. For

black women who were taught they were responsible

for saving the world. Sacred peace. We're not

saving this. Too often we are expected to rescue

the world from its own ugliness, to save our

communities, our elections, our churches, our

relationships, our men. We are used as teacher,

prophet, priest, and therapist, all without compensation.

We are tired. Let us reclaim ourselves. Help

us to resist a society that uses black women

to alleviate its own guilt. Expose those in our

lives who see us as more resource than human.

Show the world the ways it uses us as mere tools

for others' own self -realization. We don't want

to be bridges trampled on daily so that folk

can be guided across deep waters without ever

getting wet. We want to be human, whole, complicated,

rested, and well. Draw us near to those who are

disinterested in our utility and grant us courage.

to walk away from those our intuition continues

to warn us against. We want more for ourselves,

more rest, more laughter, more play, more adventure.

Be our peace in a desperate world. for collective

care. Loving God, we confess that we are so accustomed

to pushing through an exhausted state that we

come to expect the same from those nearest to

us. We mirror the demands made of us and dissociate

from the reality that these demands have harmed

us, have left us anxious and unwell. Reorient

our souls towards more than self -care. We want

more for one another than the same expectations

that haunt us, the same brutal experience of

living within the systems of this world. Free

us from resentment and envy as we bear witness

to the prophets in our lives who practice rest

and boundaries well. Let them be our guides into

deeper freedom. Help us to never get used to

being used. We were made for more. And together,

we possess the mysterious power of regeneration

wrapped up in our bones. May it be so. And Grace,

if you'll put up that prayer. This is the last

prayer that... that Cole gives us before confession.

I'll just give you a minute to use this to breathe

and to pray. Amen.