rest - 16th sunday B Fiesta

Last Sunday I was a bit disturbed because in the gospel the Lord sends the apostles two by two to preach repentance, to drive out demons, to anoint with oil and cure the sick.  I was disturbed because until now the bishop has not given me any assignment yet – no apostolate, no parish, no work.  And so I am there stuck in the seminary living as a guest in the house where I was once the boss for 8 years.  And now I am just a guest, living in a much smaller and warmer room, and to while away my time I spend most of my day in the library of the seminary.  I classify the books, I mend the covers which are torn because of years of use, I arrange the books on the shelves, I get my hands dirty by dusting the books and the cabinets and the tables and the chairs and the floor.  And imagine my bewilderment then when I read the gospel last Sunday, the gospel which narrated how Jesus sent the apostles two by two.  Go, Jesus said, go to towns and villages, preach repentance, drive out demons, anoint the sick.  And then while reading the gospel I reached that point when I need to pause and ask the Lord, Lord why are you not sending me?  Why are you not telling me to go, why are you not commanding me to minister, to preach, to care as you did your apostles?  Why?

This Sunday I got my answer.  And this is what I am going to preach today, a very simple theme contained in just a single verse which says, And Jesus said to them,“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”   Rest. What is rest?  Rest is a break from activities. Rest is a chance to renew, to stop and to slowdown. Rest is an end to work, if only for a little while. It is an opportunity to stop doing, so that I can simply become myself again – not defined by my rank, or by my skills, or by what I can do, or by my pay grade, but just simply by who I am.  One seminarian was so excited I was no longer the rector.  Thinking that he does not like me I asked him why?  And he told me, Der puede mo na ako ma friend sa facebook. 

Have you noticed that, nga kon ara kita sa office or sa ulobrahan naton tam-an ka defined sang aton mga roles – boss ako, manager na sia, mas taas na sia sang sa akon.  But it is in situations when we rest, kulukaon lang sa lamesa in a more relaxed atmosphere nga makapungko lang kita bisan diin, makalangas-langas bisan kay sin-o, maka-istorya nga casual sa isa kag isa.  That’s the beauty of resting.  You become you, the real you, to yourself and to others.

So, several things need to be clarified regarding rest and resting.

First, in the bible to take a rest is not a suggestion.  It is a command.  The former slaves of Egypt who assembled in Mt. Sinai to receive the commandments of God must have been surprised to hear the third commandment, when the Lord commanded them saying, for six days you shall work but on the seventh you shall not do any work, you or your sons or daughters, your female or male servants.  Why? Because resting means freedom and only a free person can rest.  Resting means I am not enslaved by anyone, I am not enslaved by anything.  

It may no longer be common nowadays to be enslaved by human masters, but mind you we can still be enslaved by ambition or by greed, by the need to succeed exceedingly to the detriment of our values, or we can be enslaved by things we want to possess - more money, more things.  This kind of slavery is self-imposed.  And we lose our freedom.  So resting is not just taking a day off or going to church to hear mass or having a vacation.  These things are also important.   But not just these.  To rest means I am freeing myself from values that enslave me, I am freeing myself from attitudes that impede my relationship with God, I am freeing myself from priorities that will take away my time from my family.  So why do we rest from time to time – because we are not slaves, we are not enslaved by anything.

Second, why do we rest?  We rest because Jesus will take care of us.  Resting is a sign of trust.  It is a way of accepting the reality that I can only do so much, that I am not in control of everything, that I can and will do what I can to the best of my ability, and then entrust everything else to God.    Our responsorial psalm is the beautiful Psalm 23 and it tells us that God gives us rest in verdant pastures. Literally it means, God lays down our heads on the soft grass.  You must rest.  Why? Because God is taking care of you and the sign that you believe that God is taking care of you, the sign that you believe that God is looking after you, is that you rest from time to time.

Don’t get me wrong.  We need to work.  St. Paul is clear – those who do not work should not eat.  But we need to rest too for two reasons – first we are not enslaved by anything, not even of work.  And second, God is taking good care of us.

Today we celebrate the 15^thanniversary of Fiesta.  You have come a long way from simple beginnings to what it is right now.  This is the company that thrived and continues to thrive on the creativity of the people who runs it.  Very creative people. And this makes our reflection all the more important, for it is in rest and in renewal that we become more creative.  When we rest like God we also become more creative like God.

And so we raise our voices to God in gratitude, thanking him for the 15 years and entrusting our venture in the coming years.