Enter God’s Rest (Hebrews 4:1-13) The 21st Sunday after Pentecost (October 17, 2021) This text from Hebrews before us this morning is by every standard a truly difficult text. It has complicated sentence structure. It also contains so many unusual expressions that it has not been very easy to translate. In fact, our English translations are all over the map. This has led to no end of head-scratching for those who try to interpret it. Perhaps this is why this text is rarely seen in our regular lectionary series in the church. It only appears this year because we have so many extra Sundays following Pentecost that all the customarily used texts are already used up by this time of the year. In spite of these difficulties, however, one message clearly stands out in this text even to a casual hearer. That is the call to enter God’s rest. Hear once again verses 9 through 11: ‘So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” Rest, now this a topic that resonates with all of us! Who of us would not like more rest! In our fast paced world, it seems like the only thing that is in real short supply in our lives is rest. Even when we do take time for vacations and holidays, so often our schedules on those holidays are so full of activities that usually we need some rest and relaxation from our rest and relaxation! But here we need to differentiate between what we, or at least our world, would consider rest and what the holy writer is speaking about in our text. Here rest does not refer to sleep, or even a break from busyness. 6- 8 hours of sleep a day is certainly something our bodies require. If we don’t get quality sleep, we are not only drowsy and out of sorts all day at our jobs and daily tasks but we can develop some very serious health problems also. There is, however, a marked difference between physical exhaustion and the need we all have for some real rest; that is, some rest in God. When our bodies get exhausted, they will either fall asleep or collapse. But our minds and hearts don’t necessarily benefit from physical rest and sleep. Our minds never shut off, as we all know only too well. How many nights have we spent tossing and turning simply because we could not stop thinking about something that was bugging us, or worrying us? There is only one place where our minds and spirits can receive true rest and that is in God Himself. After all, much of what we worry about, what prevents us from getting a good night’s sleep, is well beyond our control anyway. It is always about what we have done, should do, or need to do, as if our doing will solve anything. As Jesus has said, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?” (Luke 12:25,26) The real rest we need is to be found only in us doing nothing and God doing everything for us!
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