““Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
Jesus asks a great question as he is addressing the crowds gathered around him, “Are you tired?” Ignatius Loyola taught a practice he termed imaginative prayer. He would encourage his followers to imagine themselves as part of the gospel narrative as they were reading it. He would tell them to pick one of the characters in the narrative and imagine what it would have been like to be them. Immerse yourself into the story above and wonder how you would respond to the three questions Jesus asked. Now, take the next step and wonder how you would respond to the invitation Jesus offered. Jesus is inviting the crowd to come to him and learn how to “find rest for your soul” (Matthew 11:29, ESV).
Jesus is teaching us in this passage that we need practice Self-Care/Soul-Care. We can only tend to others if we have been tending to ourself. I am guessing that most of us would answer “Yes” to the questions Jesus ask but I also believe many of use would answer “No” to the invitation that Jesus offered. I am afraid that “resting” is not valued in our western culture. Are you able to disconnect from work in the evening, on weekend, or when you are on “vacation?” I find the term “working vacation” to be an oxymoron. My encouragement to you is to take a fresh look at the invitation Jesus is offering and simply say “YES.”
The Sojourner’s Garden is one resource you can turn to to explore what it looks like to say “yes” to the invitation. It is a work in progress but I do offer some spiritual practices that you can use to find rest in Jesus. I also do spiritual direction if you are interested in me coming along side as you explore the invitation.
Alan Fadling’s book An Unhurried Life is a wonderful resource on this topic. He and his wife Gem also have a great website with addition resources: Unhurried Living