St Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Pentecost 9 – August 3^rd and 6^th, 2006

Dear Children of God,

How many hours of sleep do you get a night? Are you getting enough sleep? The experts break it down this way. Elementary aged kids who are ages 6-9 on average need about 10 hours of sleep. Junior high kids ages 10-12 need about 9 hours of sleep. Teens need anywhere from 8.5 to 9.5 and adults on average should get about 8 hours of sleep. Are you getting that much sleep? It also said that there are side effects that some from not getting enough sleep and rest. They say that you will have difficulties in concentrating and you may even fall asleep during the day at work or school. Your emotions and moods will also be more erratic. I would say that if most of us were honest we would have to admit that we are not getting enough sleep and rest. If I wanted to get real scientific today I could watch to see how many eyelids become heavy over the course of the next 15 minutes.

As we think about rest and sleep, we realize that Jesus also understood that our bodies need rest. God who created us also knows that our bodies can only go so long before they get tired. God wants us to be rested so that we can accomplish all the great things he has planned for us. The problem lies in the fact that God is more concerned about spiritual rest than physical rest. As we hear the words this morning we will see that Jesus will help us with both. That is why we will use the theme today:

The region of Galilee was being swept by news that thrilled and shocked and stirred the people. Jesus, the prophet of Galilee, had seemingly stepped up his activity: not only was he himself teaching and traveling vigorously, he had also commissioned the Twelve to go out two by two. Their call to repentance was backed up by the same power their Lord displayed, for they too drove out demons and healed the sick. But at the same time the terrible news came from Herod’s palace. The proud and boastful king had yielded to Herodias’ hatred and had ordered the execution of John the Baptist. In the middle of this joy and grief comes this calm and comforting work of the Savior.

"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught." The report of the apostles concerned the mission committed to them that we heard in last week’s readings. The disciples preached repentance, as their Lord did. God gave his stamp of approval on their words by allowing them to do miraculous signs and wonders, the same signs that marked Jesus’ ministry. Clearly these men were his men; their message was his message. Just as clearly we see that those who go in his name are accountable for what they say and do as they witnessed in the death of John the Baptist who lost his life for standing up to sin and preaching the truth.. The disciples returned and gave reports.

Jesus is dealing with excited men who have made their first evangelism visits and preached their first sermons; and he is dealing with friends of John the Baptist who are grieving at the loss of their former teacher. How many of them are also saying: "That’s what happened to a preacher of repentance; do I still want to go out in public as a preacher of repentance in Jesus’ name?" Jesus will have to deal with both the experiences of their travels and the fears that threaten their souls.

"Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Counseling was simply impossible. Jesus’ headquarters-home in Capernaum was filled with so many people coming and going that there wasn’t even a chance to hold a dinner meeting. From that circus atmosphere he invited his apostles to a more secluded place for some rest. The rest Jesus offered the disciples certainly means first of all the kind of rest that weary bodies and minds need after the physical and mental exertion of traveling and teaching. There are valuable lessons for us when we note that this rest followed their hard work. After work has wearied us, then comes the time for rest and ease.

We also should recognize that rest is not now a permanent state. The period of rest precedes and prepares for more work. The next order of business for the Twelve is going to be pondering the needs of 5,000 supperless hearers. This perplexing mental activity is followed by carrying to them the bread and fish the Lord Jesus provided so miraculously. No, earth is not a place for extended idleness; earthly rest restores the energy we expended in labor and reinvigorates us for continued labor.

"So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them." Luke mentions a place near Bethsaida as the destination. It wasn’t even the humble village that was the goal, nor was it a country club resort. He who, unlike the foxes, had no place to lay his head, who had no preaching place but a boat, also had nothing but an unpopulated wilderness for his resort motel. The group of people from Capernaum followed. In all the cities along the way they added to their numbers. It didn’t require superior agility to keep up with the boat. After all, following the shoreline was the natural course for the boat. And the passengers in that boat were not striving for any speed record; they were seeking rest and private conversation with the Lord. Possibly most of their rest came on the cruise rather than at the destination. Those who followed along the shore were indicating a strong enthusiasm for Jesus. They desired more from him, more teaching, more miracles. Yet we fear that their joy in him may have been only a shallow enthusiasm. After they were miraculously fed it was their plan to take him by force to make him an earthly king. That’s the direction their enthusiasm was taking; they should have listened more closely.

As we live on this earth we most certainly recognize that God wants us to rest our bodies. He knows that we cannot go forever without rest. We are not helping ourselves and we are not helping those around us. Vacations, days off and planned rest is necessary as we prepare tour bodies to do the work, which God has before us

"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things." It was rude of the crowd to impose on Jesus in Capernaum; it was rude of them to follow where others had been invited. Yet it was not rude treatment that Jesus returned to them. Jesus had compassion on them. "Undeserved love" is the basis for the Savior’s dealings with sinners, all sinners. Compassion and grace and a shepherd’s care are the gifts, the good news, that Jesus brings.

Let us use that well-understood idea of rest properly; let us be sure our enthusiasm is directed to the Lord’s gifts, not just to our own ease. Indeed Jesus offered physical rest to his tired disciples. As they were tired from their journeys, spent from their preaching, and drained by the sad news about John, he offered them the rest and recuperation they needed.

This truth that earthly rest is not yet perfect serves as a transition to those other thoughts about rest, the perfect rest still to come. The Twelve needed to hear of a better rest. Their earthly rest was fragile and vulnerable. Sheer numbers had taken away their rest in Capernaum. How much uneasiness filled their work reports as they told Jesus not only of welcomes for their words but also of rejection? After all, Jesus had prepared them for people who would refuse to listen. All their life there would come days when messages would come about the death of friends. All their life they would be dealing with demanding, discourteous actions by some of earth’s citizens.

The crowd that followed was also in need of rest that went beyond the usual food and shelter. Did they really understand why Jesus was important to them? If they were thinking of making him king so they could straighten out affairs in Jerusalem, what other incorrect ideas were they holding? To the spiritual needy, which is all people, Jesus gives rest far beyond physical rest. He has compassion. The simple answer of God for human weakness and inadequacy is his love. He will be our helper.

We have now reached the last third of our summer vacations. Have we taken the time to rest and relax as we recharge our bodies to go back to school and to make it through our long an hard winters. But amongst all of this earthly rest and relaxation we will do well to remind ourselves that there is never a time where we can take a break from the rest that Jesus offered top the people in our text and that he offers to all sinners. The rest he offers is the message that the burden of our guilt has been removed and that our sins have been taken away. Have we been taking the time in our busy schedules to find the rest that Jesus offers in his word? Without God’s rest and forgiveness we will wear down spiritually. We will be weak and exposed the attacks of the Devil and our sinful nature. Maybe we could put it this way. How regularly have we been in God’s house? How often have we come to the Lord’s Supper? When was the last time we opened our Bible’s or read our meditations or other devotion book? If we have to think about these things, we have not taken the time to receive the rest that Jesus offers to us.

Not that I am wishing bad vacations on people, but if our earthly vacations fall short of perfection, and we still had the time to find spiritual rest while on our vacation then it was a very good vacation. It doesn’t really matter if the mosquitoes are too plentiful and the fish too scarce, if we still kept close to our God of rest. As Christians we can rejoice in Jesus’ gift of perfect rest! Viewing the wonders of God’s creation as we find earthly rest shows us the splendor and power he has available to show his love for us, but making sure we are receiving the rest of God’s forgiveness is far greater. We find our rest in God’s compassion, in the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins and the sure hope of everlasting life. God invites us to come as often as possible to receive this rest – the rest that we so desperately need. The rest that God lovingly wants to give. Amen