You likely know what it's like to have more demands than time, more people needing your attention than you are able to give. That's the situation we follow Jesus into this week in Mark 1:29-39. He's overwhelmed with the hurting people who are drawn to him.

So what does he do? Jesus leaves. Jesus, who healed Simon's mother-in-law on the sabbath sneaks away for some personal sabbath of his own. Sabbath is a life-giving antidote for our out of control lives. Eugene Peterson (translator of The Message) writes about the relationship between work and sabbath. Slow down and chew on Peterson's wisdom:

If there is no Sabbath - no regular and commanded not-working, not-talking - we soon become totally absorbed in what we are doing and saying, and God's work is either forgotten or marginalized. When we work we are most god-like, which means that it is in our work that it is easiest to develop god-pretensions. Un-sabbathed, our work becomes the entire context within which we define our lives. We lose God-consciousness, God-awareness, sightings of resurrection. We lose the capacity to sing "This is my Father's world" and end up chirping little self-centered ditties about what we are doing and feeling.

(from Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places p. 117)

In our hurried and harried world, we may not be able to observe an entire sabbath day. But each day we can clear out at least a few moments of sabbath.

As I write this I'm praying for you, that you can slow down and rest a few moments, and see clearly, listen carefully, think deeply and thus enjoy life fully and serve God effectively.

Joyfully working and sabbathing with you,

Pastor Jeff Whillock