WEBVTT 00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:04.299 Well, everybody, like I said, my name is Greg 00:00:04.299 --> 00:00:05.860 Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here. I'm one 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:09.580 of three pastors here. Pastor Marissa and Pastor 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:12.080 Jen, if you don't mind praying for them this 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:15.099 week, they are currently in Greece. For many, 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:17.719 many years, Pastor Jen has also done ministry 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:21.019 with something called One Collective. It is a 00:00:21.019 --> 00:00:23.719 global missionary organization. And whenever 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:26.399 the missionaries from a region get together and 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.359 have like a conference for them to grow with 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:32.740 each other, Jen goes and actually creates. the 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:35.420 programming for all of the students and so she's 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:37.619 done that as long as I've known her she has now 00:00:37.619 --> 00:00:40.140 seen a lot of these kids grow up she has gone 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:42.460 to their weddings she's had them come and stay 00:00:42.460 --> 00:00:44.979 here with her there's actually I think a student 00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:47.219 at Augustana right now that is one of those kids 00:00:47.219 --> 00:00:49.399 and so it's just really cool to see that I'm 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:51.179 sure she would love to tell you about if you 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:53.380 ever feel like you'd like to go with her and 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:57.060 so just be praying for them as they are in Greece 00:00:57.060 --> 00:01:01.149 not Not sightseeing, not just sightseeing. I'm 00:01:01.149 --> 00:01:04.269 sure they'll see a couple sites. And if you want 00:01:04.269 --> 00:01:06.109 to know about sites, ask Andy, because Andy knows 00:01:06.109 --> 00:01:09.689 about all the sites. All right. So last week, 00:01:09.790 --> 00:01:12.890 Pastor Jen started the Blueprint series with 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:17.010 a message about why a plan of discipleship might 00:01:17.010 --> 00:01:20.629 be helpful at all in the first place. So just 00:01:20.629 --> 00:01:24.170 a quick... Show of hands, when you get something 00:01:24.170 --> 00:01:28.049 new that has to be built or put together, show 00:01:28.049 --> 00:01:30.609 of hands, you are the person that uses the instruction 00:01:30.609 --> 00:01:34.090 manual. Anyone? Okay, look around. These are 00:01:34.090 --> 00:01:35.670 the people that you will need someday, right? 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:39.409 You will need some of these people someday. But 00:01:39.409 --> 00:01:41.969 I wonder if some of us watch the instruction 00:01:41.969 --> 00:01:44.450 manuals like this. Grace, will you click on that 00:01:44.450 --> 00:01:49.290 video? Let's see if it works. There you go. Is 00:01:49.290 --> 00:02:04.900 this how you read the instructions? know how 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:07.640 many times I have taken the wrapper off of a 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:10.680 pizza to put the pizza in and thrown everything 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:12.900 away just to then realize I have no idea how 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:14.539 long I'm supposed to leave this thing in there. 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:19.819 And I've done that exact thing. I have to admit, 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:22.879 though, that as I have gotten older, the more 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:27.159 I find myself using the actual manual or instructions 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.419 that comes with something, which goes against 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:35.830 every fiber of my Gen X DNA. I was born in 1978, 00:02:36.069 --> 00:02:39.729 and when I was a kid, they gave every kid a manual 00:02:39.729 --> 00:02:42.090 for how to live the rest of their lives. You 00:02:42.090 --> 00:02:45.509 opened the cover on the front page, and bold 00:02:45.509 --> 00:02:48.169 lettering, it said, figure it out yourself, kid. 00:02:48.710 --> 00:02:52.710 And every other page was empty. That is how we 00:02:52.710 --> 00:02:56.469 grew up. We figured it all out. There was no 00:02:56.469 --> 00:03:01.080 YouTube. There was no... World Wide Web, there 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:03.840 were no computers. In our homes, we had no cell 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:05.840 phones. If you did not know how to do something, 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.740 you either had to have enough money to pay someone 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:13.219 to do it for you, or you figured out how to do 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:16.740 it yourself. If you tell someone from my generation, 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:19.319 hey, I think you might need a plan for this, 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:21.860 all we hear is, you don't think I can do this, 00:03:21.860 --> 00:03:25.860 do you? That's all we hear. I'm wired to my core 00:03:25.860 --> 00:03:30.699 to just figure it out. I can just figure it out. 00:03:30.819 --> 00:03:36.400 And so I've had to resist that programming in 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:41.800 following Jesus. And what I've found is that 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:44.340 over the years, I can look back and see that 00:03:44.340 --> 00:03:48.960 my deepest seasons of growth have been when there 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:53.539 was far more intentionality than in other seasons 00:03:53.539 --> 00:03:59.120 of my life. Now, the good news. About the blueprint, 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.819 this idea that we have is that whether you love 00:04:01.819 --> 00:04:05.599 instructions or whether you are someone that 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:09.800 just wings it, the first page of this discipleship 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:15.159 plan will give you the time to be ready for the 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:18.420 rest of the steps. Because the first page of 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:23.920 this plan is just called rest. You open this. 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:32.040 First page, bold letters, one word, rest. And 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:33.420 so today we're going to do a couple things a 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:36.720 little bit differently. One will be later, but 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:38.920 this is the first one is that every week normally 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:40.899 as we read the scriptures in the context of a 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:43.120 sermon, we ask you to give it obviously your 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.399 full attention, but to stand as you are able. 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:48.579 But today I just do not want you to sit. I want 00:04:48.579 --> 00:04:51.459 you to sit. I want you to make yourself comfortable. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.779 Put your body in a restful position. Leave your 00:04:54.779 --> 00:04:57.600 Bibles where they are. I promise I will read 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.699 the scriptures. You can tune your ears to hear 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:04.100 the word of the Lord. You can close your eyes 00:05:04.100 --> 00:05:07.000 if it is helpful, but you don't have to. But 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.379 let's tune our ears to the word of the Lord, 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:15.819 and we'll see where it goes. This is Psalm 127, 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:20.740 verse 2. It is five translations combined together. 00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:27.589 Psalm 127 says, it is vain for you to rise early. 00:05:29.189 --> 00:05:35.750 It is vain to retire late. It is vain to eat 00:05:35.750 --> 00:05:40.490 the bread of anxious labors. For the Lord enjoys 00:05:40.490 --> 00:05:44.970 giving rest to those he loves. He provides for 00:05:44.970 --> 00:05:48.689 his beloved. He gives sleep to those he loves. 00:05:48.730 --> 00:05:54.160 He gives blessings to his beloved. Yes, he provides 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:58.620 for those whom he loves, even when they sleep. 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:05.759 Let us pray. God of every tribe, every tongue, 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:08.019 every color, and every nation, we thank you for 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:10.879 the scriptures. We thank you for this psalm that 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:15.860 has existed for millennia. We pray that whatever 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:19.800 you have for us today, that it would stick. that 00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:21.759 it would become a part of the framework of our 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:26.699 faith, that our faith would grow, become deeper, 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:31.699 as we become more like your son, Jesus. Amen. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:40.740 It is vanity to rise early, to retire late, to 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:44.120 eat the bread of anxious labors, for the Lord 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:51.189 provides even while you sleep. I thought about 00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:54.670 just reading those words over and over again 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:58.990 for 30 minutes. And then the part of me that 00:06:58.990 --> 00:07:01.470 said, no, they will think you didn't do your 00:07:01.470 --> 00:07:04.209 job. That guy didn't write a sermon. He just 00:07:04.209 --> 00:07:08.610 read the scriptures the whole time. But I'm convinced 00:07:08.610 --> 00:07:12.589 that the world does not want you to rest. Whatever 00:07:12.589 --> 00:07:14.430 world you're in, whether you're in school, a 00:07:14.430 --> 00:07:16.939 job, whether you're retirement age. There's still 00:07:16.939 --> 00:07:19.720 so much about this world that does not want you 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:23.560 to rest, does not want you to relax. The systems 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:28.779 that we've created do not want you to stop. They 00:07:28.779 --> 00:07:34.060 want you to work harder. They teach us, actually, 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:38.720 to resent others when we see them receive rest. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:46.579 Matthew 20. Jesus tells a parable, a story about 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:49.579 the kingdom of God. And he says the kingdom is 00:07:49.579 --> 00:07:52.660 like a landowner that goes out in the morning 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:54.819 to find some people to work in the vineyard. 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:57.060 And he says, this is what I'll pay you at the 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.420 end of the day. And then throughout the day, 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:03.319 he goes and he keeps finding more people to bring 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.139 back throughout the day. And then you get to 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:07.879 the end of the day. And it turned out that no 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:09.680 matter how long that you had worked, whether 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:12.800 you had been the first one there or the last, 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:15.199 a full day, half day, or maybe even just the 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.899 last hour, when you got to the end, Jesus says 00:08:17.899 --> 00:08:22.180 the landowner paid all of them the exact same 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:27.199 thing, a full day's pay. And as you can imagine, 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:31.300 because we exist in systems that do not want 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:34.690 others. To receive rest or receive something 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:37.169 that we don't think that they deserve. As you 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:39.830 can imagine, the people in this story that had 00:08:39.830 --> 00:08:46.690 worked all day long were pretty angry. But here's 00:08:46.690 --> 00:08:49.169 the twist. Remember, Jesus isn't talking about 00:08:49.169 --> 00:08:53.090 money. He's telling a parable. They're not just 00:08:53.090 --> 00:08:57.850 angry about they got paid the same. They're angry 00:08:57.850 --> 00:09:03.009 because he made them their equals. Listen to 00:09:03.009 --> 00:09:05.330 what it says, Matthew 20 and verse 12. It says, 00:09:05.450 --> 00:09:11.190 they complained, they only worked one hour, and 00:09:11.190 --> 00:09:15.269 you have made them equal to us who have borne 00:09:15.269 --> 00:09:19.230 the burden of the work and the heat of the day. 00:09:21.190 --> 00:09:25.789 Those people didn't work as hard as we did. Why 00:09:25.789 --> 00:09:28.669 should they get as much as we did? Why should 00:09:28.669 --> 00:09:31.850 they be equal to us? Not only did they not... 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:36.440 Work is hard. They did not suffer as much. We 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:41.580 bore the work of hard labor. We bore the burning 00:09:41.580 --> 00:09:44.559 sun all day long. Some of these people got here 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:47.399 after the sun had already been highest in the 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:50.100 sky. They got here an hour before it was going 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:55.600 to be time to rest. Again, the story isn't about 00:09:55.600 --> 00:10:00.039 money. The story isn't really even about work. 00:10:01.669 --> 00:10:05.610 It's about the kingdom. And in the kingdom, what 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:10.470 you get as that reward or that pay or that gift 00:10:10.470 --> 00:10:16.970 is rest. So their real complaint is, why would 00:10:16.970 --> 00:10:20.029 God give this person that showed up late the 00:10:20.029 --> 00:10:24.879 same rest that I have earned? Jesus tells other 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:27.100 parables, and he describes people entering into 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:29.179 the fullness of God's glory, and what does he 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:31.779 say? Well done, my good and faithful servant. 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:35.600 Enjoy the presence of the Lord. Enter the joy 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:45.000 of the Lord. The end of the day is rest. Rest 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:50.440 isn't a paycheck. Rest isn't a reward for work 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:53.659 well done. Rest, as it turns out, is actually 00:10:53.659 --> 00:11:00.519 a gift. We know that it's a gift because he's 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:02.580 willing to give it to people that didn't work 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:06.379 all day. The story of the Israelites tells us 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:09.340 that after being rescued from their slavery in 00:11:09.340 --> 00:11:12.480 Egypt, that God gave the Israelites the gift 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:18.059 of Sabbath. They had been enslaved for hundreds 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:23.200 of years. And then they go and they wander for 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.480 40 years, but what didn't they do for 40 years? 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:31.419 They didn't have giant farms. They didn't have 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:37.000 to build houses. There was no traditional work. 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:39.659 They were learning who God said they were, and 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:42.039 they were learning to walk closely with him, 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:48.519 and they were learning how to rest. But that 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:52.820 rest, that gift of rest came in the form of a 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:55.399 commandment. Exodus 20 verse 8 says, remember 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:59.500 the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And I think 00:11:59.500 --> 00:12:05.539 that we have this allergy to commands. And I 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.039 think it's fair. Sometimes we have an allergy 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:10.860 to commands. And so it's hard for some of us 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:15.879 to hear that a commandment is a gift. But there's 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:19.759 something freeing. about receiving God's commandment 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:26.039 to us as a gift for us. Think about it. If I 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:29.419 want to do A, B, and C, and someone else is pulling 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:32.399 me in another direction to do X, Y, and Z, but 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:35.039 I have been given the commandment of R, E, S, 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:39.019 T, everything else, it's all going to be there 00:12:39.019 --> 00:12:43.039 tomorrow. It is a gift to be able to let go. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.039 It is a gift to be able to say, that will still 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:50.779 be there. It is a gift to say that God has not 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:53.360 only commanded it, but because it is a commandment, 00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:56.840 it frees me from all of the other things I would 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:00.840 convince myself are why I can't. I can't rest 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:07.919 today. There's water in my basement. But this 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:12.580 is what it also means. Rest being a gift also 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:14.460 means that no one can tell you that your rest 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:20.879 is laziness. No one can tell you that your rest 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:25.360 is laziness. Let that sink in. Rest is actually 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:31.080 the opposite of laziness. Rest is a lesson in 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:38.320 resistance. Rest is permission for resistance. 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:45.159 Do you know who hates rest? Pharaohs hate rest. 00:13:47.049 --> 00:13:53.710 Slave drivers hate rest. People looking at the 00:13:53.710 --> 00:13:56.110 bottom line that haven't made enough in their 00:13:56.110 --> 00:14:01.889 portfolio hate rest. Dehumanizers hate wasted 00:14:01.889 --> 00:14:05.549 time. They despise meandering and frivolity. 00:14:09.730 --> 00:14:14.350 They hate the quieted. They hate the rested. 00:14:14.350 --> 00:14:22.240 They hate the peaceful. Psalm 127 tells us that 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:25.679 it is vain for you to rise early. That it is 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:30.899 vain to retire late. It is vain to eat the bread 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:35.220 of anxious laborers. Why? Because the Lord enjoys 00:14:35.220 --> 00:14:39.600 giving rest to those he loves, even while they 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:50.309 sleep. You have permission. You have permission 00:14:50.309 --> 00:14:54.570 to resist the way that our systems literally 00:14:54.570 --> 00:14:58.409 enslaved people for hundreds of years and continues 00:14:58.409 --> 00:15:03.990 to try to enslave so many now. You have permission 00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:14.570 to resist that. You have permission to resist 00:15:14.570 --> 00:15:16.750 the way that it would use you up until there 00:15:16.750 --> 00:15:22.850 was nothing left. You have permission to stop 00:15:22.850 --> 00:15:25.529 before you have gotten to beyond exhaustion. 00:15:28.450 --> 00:15:31.450 You have permission to take the advice of Shannon 00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:35.570 in her prayer about learning that if you just 00:15:35.570 --> 00:15:39.070 work and work, you will have nothing left to 00:15:39.070 --> 00:15:46.289 give. And then some of us, we need to repent 00:15:46.289 --> 00:15:50.669 of believing we don't need rest, maybe. Or we 00:15:50.669 --> 00:15:54.870 need to repent of being the workers that worked 00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:57.029 all day thinking that we're better than the late 00:15:57.029 --> 00:16:02.470 arrivals. We need to let go of the anger that 00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:07.230 we feel when others receive rest. We need to 00:16:07.230 --> 00:16:13.450 ask, why are we so bothered by that? Why are 00:16:13.450 --> 00:16:21.179 we so bothered that they're late? Too much of 00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:24.220 the world has been built and maintained on the 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:26.740 backs of those that have already carried too 00:16:26.740 --> 00:16:39.960 much. But there is a gift waiting for us. It's 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:44.360 already here. One of my favorite verses is Jesus 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:46.899 saying, come to me all who are weak and weary 00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:51.389 and I will give you rest. Burden is easy. My 00:16:51.389 --> 00:16:57.409 yoke is light. The other thing that I wanted 00:16:57.409 --> 00:16:59.850 to do that was different today is lead us in 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:06.069 some rest. There's a book up here called Black 00:17:06.069 --> 00:17:10.250 Liturgies by an author called Arthur Riley. If 00:17:10.250 --> 00:17:12.410 before you leave you feel like you need this 00:17:12.410 --> 00:17:15.049 book, you can have this book or you can borrow 00:17:15.049 --> 00:17:21.319 it. It's up to you. Cole has written all these 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:23.619 liturgies for different things that are important 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:27.319 in life. And one of the things that they've written 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:31.720 a chapter and a liturgy for is rest. And so I 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:34.920 actually just felt compelled to lead you through 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:38.900 the prayers of the liturgy that Cole wrote about 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:41.119 rest. And how we're going to do that is I'm going 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.460 to read a prayer, and then I'm just going to 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:48.529 give you silence to rest in that prayer. So let 00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:50.549 the Holy Spirit speak to your heart about what 00:17:50.549 --> 00:17:53.670 this prayer has said, whether it be convicting 00:17:53.670 --> 00:17:57.250 or comforting or counseling. Let it direct you. 00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:01.109 I want to encourage you to make yourself comfortable. 00:18:02.269 --> 00:18:05.930 This is going to take about 15 minutes. And this 00:18:05.930 --> 00:18:08.089 is the beginning for some of us, the beginning 00:18:08.089 --> 00:18:10.690 of going, okay, I can rest. I can find my way. 00:18:10.750 --> 00:18:13.970 I can let go of everything I told myself that 00:18:13.970 --> 00:18:17.109 I had to do. I can... Let go of the expectations 00:18:17.109 --> 00:18:22.210 that others have put on me or I can just breathe 00:18:22.210 --> 00:18:28.789 deep. So here we go. Receive this liturgy of 00:18:28.789 --> 00:18:36.450 rest. First prayer for boundaries. God of boundaries, 00:18:36.630 --> 00:18:40.609 remind us that sometimes we need to walk away 00:18:40.609 --> 00:18:44.309 from people and situations for our own rest and 00:18:44.309 --> 00:18:48.190 survival. That when the demands of the world 00:18:48.190 --> 00:18:51.509 grow loud, we have full agency to choose silence 00:18:51.509 --> 00:18:55.390 and peace. The stories we tell ourselves about 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:59.349 why we cannot do so are often grounded in guilt. 00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:04.009 A guilt that has been carefully implanted by 00:19:04.009 --> 00:19:06.589 a society that believes we are products to be 00:19:06.589 --> 00:19:11.250 used and consumed. We've been pushed and pulled 00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:16.220 out of ourselves and our own desires. Grant us 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:20.400 the courage to say no without apology, that we 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:22.839 would meet the demands of this world with truth 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.259 -telling and self -charity, knowing that our 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:30.119 boundaries are holy ground. We will not survive 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:32.660 by inching further and further away from safety. 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:36.700 Show us that sometimes the boundary we fear setting 00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:39.720 marks the border between freedom and bondage. 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:44.630 Be with us. on the journey back to a solid voice. 00:19:45.789 --> 00:20:38.059 When we speak no, let it shatter chains. For 00:20:38.059 --> 00:20:44.240 when rest feels like a risk, rest it, God. We 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:49.440 want more than a life lived exhausted. That you 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:52.180 have woven healing rhythms of rest into our minds 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:55.740 and bodies reminds us we are worthy of habitual 00:20:55.740 --> 00:21:00.359 restoration. Keep us from apologizing for our 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:05.730 own healing. That we would know. That when we 00:21:05.730 --> 00:21:09.430 pause or rest, we are restoring not only our 00:21:09.430 --> 00:21:12.910 own bodies, but the very condition of a world 00:21:12.910 --> 00:21:17.430 held captive by greed and utility. We grow weary 00:21:17.430 --> 00:21:20.890 of societies who view us as more machine than 00:21:20.890 --> 00:21:25.529 human, more product than soul. The fear that 00:21:25.529 --> 00:21:29.130 we won't survive without overworking stalks our 00:21:29.130 --> 00:21:33.730 days. Liberate us from the depraved socioeconomic 00:21:33.730 --> 00:21:37.799 structures. that require that the poor and vulnerable 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:42.119 sacrifice their own rest at the altar of survival 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:47.079 and opportunity. Protect us from fear as we rest 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:51.279 with you. Breathe with us as we breathe with 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:55.900 you. Remind us that the beauty and paradox of 00:21:55.900 --> 00:21:59.500 our humanness is that we were made to close our 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:57.670 eyes, that we might see. May it be so. for insomnia. 00:22:58.869 --> 00:23:02.990 God of the long night, every part of us is weary. 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:06.589 The fatigue from sleepless nights is too much 00:23:06.589 --> 00:23:11.130 for us to hold. We are desperate to rest, yet 00:23:11.130 --> 00:23:15.410 it feels impossible to access. We have endured 00:23:15.410 --> 00:23:19.390 critique, unsolicited advice and judgment from 00:23:19.390 --> 00:23:23.349 those who insinuate we are to blame for our exhaustion. 00:23:25.130 --> 00:23:28.009 Keep us from any guilt that we are unable to 00:23:28.009 --> 00:23:32.630 care for ourselves the way that we want to. Meet 00:23:32.630 --> 00:23:36.049 us in our bodies tonight that we would become 00:23:36.049 --> 00:23:39.769 protectors of their needs in a world that does 00:23:39.769 --> 00:23:44.450 not always understand them. Meet us in the stillness 00:23:44.450 --> 00:23:48.269 that we would become so acquainted with quiet 00:23:48.269 --> 00:23:51.809 that in it we could perceive your tenderness 00:23:51.809 --> 00:23:57.009 and love. Help us to reimagine what rest could 00:23:57.009 --> 00:24:01.369 look like for us, opening us to other forms of 00:24:01.369 --> 00:24:06.089 relaxation and meditation. Stay up with us, God, 00:24:06.349 --> 00:24:11.069 that even when rest seems so cruelly off course, 00:24:11.349 --> 00:24:15.450 we would be assured that the divine is near to 00:24:15.450 --> 00:24:20.829 us. Wait up with us until rest finds its way 00:24:20.829 --> 00:25:29.779 home. For those who have forgotten how to play, 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:36.839 God of levity, grant us a rest that permeates 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:41.579 our waking hours. Mark our days with the recreation 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:46.220 and playfulness of our youth. Restore to us the 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:49.940 energy for mischief and creativity and competition 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:54.849 that we've lost as we've gotten older. Put people 00:25:54.849 --> 00:25:58.809 in our lives who inspire us in our play. Game 00:25:58.809 --> 00:26:03.309 nights, karaoke, gardening, film. We want more 00:26:03.309 --> 00:26:08.250 than the binary of work and sleep. We want delight 00:26:08.250 --> 00:26:14.730 in the in -between. Those moments of interior 00:26:14.730 --> 00:26:18.349 rest that can happen while we're awake. Show 00:26:18.349 --> 00:26:21.390 us what forms of entertainment and what hobbies 00:26:21.390 --> 00:26:25.799 lead us into peace. And protect us from the lie 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:30.799 that if we are awake, we should be working. Remind 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:34.460 us that a light heart is not a heart that lacks 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:39.859 depth. That our play does not negate our grief. 00:26:42.299 --> 00:27:39.710 Let us rest in the way we need to today. For 00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:41.890 black women who were taught they were responsible 00:27:41.890 --> 00:27:47.630 for saving the world. Sacred peace. We're not 00:27:47.630 --> 00:27:51.869 saving this. Too often we are expected to rescue 00:27:51.869 --> 00:27:55.569 the world from its own ugliness, to save our 00:27:55.569 --> 00:27:59.750 communities, our elections, our churches, our 00:27:59.750 --> 00:28:04.029 relationships, our men. We are used as teacher, 00:28:04.170 --> 00:28:08.049 prophet, priest, and therapist, all without compensation. 00:28:09.609 --> 00:28:16.130 We are tired. Let us reclaim ourselves. Help 00:28:16.130 --> 00:28:19.369 us to resist a society that uses black women 00:28:19.369 --> 00:28:24.890 to alleviate its own guilt. Expose those in our 00:28:24.890 --> 00:28:27.829 lives who see us as more resource than human. 00:28:29.210 --> 00:28:33.170 Show the world the ways it uses us as mere tools 00:28:33.170 --> 00:28:38.619 for others' own self -realization. We don't want 00:28:38.619 --> 00:28:41.819 to be bridges trampled on daily so that folk 00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:44.779 can be guided across deep waters without ever 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:51.460 getting wet. We want to be human, whole, complicated, 00:28:51.859 --> 00:28:58.059 rested, and well. Draw us near to those who are 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:02.119 disinterested in our utility and grant us courage. 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:06.819 to walk away from those our intuition continues 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:10.880 to warn us against. We want more for ourselves, 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:18.039 more rest, more laughter, more play, more adventure. 00:29:19.700 --> 00:30:16.569 Be our peace in a desperate world. for collective 00:30:16.569 --> 00:30:22.609 care. Loving God, we confess that we are so accustomed 00:30:22.609 --> 00:30:26.250 to pushing through an exhausted state that we 00:30:26.250 --> 00:30:30.269 come to expect the same from those nearest to 00:30:30.269 --> 00:30:35.710 us. We mirror the demands made of us and dissociate 00:30:35.710 --> 00:30:38.029 from the reality that these demands have harmed 00:30:38.029 --> 00:30:42.829 us, have left us anxious and unwell. Reorient 00:30:42.829 --> 00:30:47.750 our souls towards more than self -care. We want 00:30:47.750 --> 00:30:50.910 more for one another than the same expectations 00:30:50.910 --> 00:30:54.769 that haunt us, the same brutal experience of 00:30:54.769 --> 00:30:58.549 living within the systems of this world. Free 00:30:58.549 --> 00:31:04.289 us from resentment and envy as we bear witness 00:31:04.289 --> 00:31:07.250 to the prophets in our lives who practice rest 00:31:07.250 --> 00:31:12.279 and boundaries well. Let them be our guides into 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:16.640 deeper freedom. Help us to never get used to 00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:23.059 being used. We were made for more. And together, 00:31:23.079 --> 00:31:27.019 we possess the mysterious power of regeneration 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:36.859 wrapped up in our bones. May it be so. And Grace, 00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:38.799 if you'll put up that prayer. This is the last 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:43.319 prayer that... that Cole gives us before confession. 00:31:46.420 --> 00:31:51.259 I'll just give you a minute to use this to breathe 00:31:51.259 --> 00:32:44.170 and to pray. Amen.