I hope you had a festive Saint Patrick’s Day and are poised for even more celebration. This week as we arrive at the mid-mark of Lent we’re going to pause, reflect on where we’ve been and rest in the moment. My prayer is that this week will be a particularly refreshing one for you.

As we begin, ask yourself these questions: What does rest look like for me? When does my body feel most at rest? And, my mind? And, when is my soul most at rest?

ANCIENT STORYLINES

So here’s where we’ve been during the past three weeks: We’ve explored Jesus’ forty-day stint in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1-11), trekking through images of the desert and considering the current state of our souls. We’ve ventured back to Jesus’ baptism and compared our gut assumptions of God to who God truly is (Matthew 3:1-17). And we’ve seen how Jesus’ showdown with the Evil One reveals how our true identity can be sabotaged or strengthened by times of struggle.

This week we’re going to reside in a small swath of Scripture. Right after Jesus answers the Evil One for a third time, the story ends with this: “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Matthew 4:11)

“Angels came and attended him.” What a curious, understated conclusion to this cosmic showdown.

So, how did those angels attend to Jesus? How long did Jesus rest with the angels? Were these angels friends of Jesus? Did these heavenly messengers have a personal message for him? Did they bring Jesus his favorite food and beverage of choice?

The Gospel writer, Matthew, simply mentions that angels cared for Jesus and leaves it at that. However, this little scrap of the story reminds me of another scene where angels waited upon a mortal.

In the 9th century B.C. there was a prophet named Elijah. He, a servant of God, also found himself in a cosmic showdown of sorts. Atop Mount Carmel Elijah took on four hundred and fifty prophets of Ba’al (the Canaanite storm god) and four hundred prophets of Asherah. The challenge involved two bulls, fire, and water. The spectators were a horde of Israelites who were torn between worshipping a foreign god for political and economic benefits or being true to their own God (see I Kings 18:16-46).

The God of Israel comes out victorious. Elijah slaughters the prophets of Ba’al and truth wins the day. Yet, shortly afterwards Elijah freaks out, and gets afraid for his life. Then the angels come and attend to him. They bake him a cake and give him water and then let him sleep. They wake him up again, feed him and once again let him sleep.

So after Elijah’s big test he gets attended to (see I Kings 19:1-9).

PROVISIONS FOR YOUR LENTEN JOURNEY FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS

REFLECTION: God creates the world; then he rest. Elijah faces down false prophets; soon after he needs food and loads of sleep. Jesus is tempted by the Evil One; angels come and attend to him. Our identity gets tested, we complete a big project at work, our kids make it through another year of school or we come through a seeming impasse in our marriage; and we’re desperate for refreshment.

God offers us rest, because he knows we must have it. After an intense time our defenses are down. Often we become physiologically depressed. While we may have just finished a time of testing, we still face another choice. We can be restored by God or we can be undone by lesser gods.

Will we let the angels attend to us? Likely heavenly beings won’t show up and bake us a cake and tuck us in for a long nap. Perhaps our messengers will attend to us in more subtle ways, such as giving us the desire to clear our schedules for a week, the longing to be with just a few close friends, the willingness to go away for a long weekend, or let our bottled-up tears spill. Our choice is to pay attention to God and to rest during this time, rather than try to scurry on to productivity or sink into old self-indulgent habits.
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When we allow for the “angels/messengers of God to come and attend to us” we let the message of God’s extravagant love sink in, we let our true identity be solidified. We begin to live more fully in what Eugene Peterson calls “the unforced rhythms of grace.”

DISCUSSION: What does rest look like for you? When does your body feel most at rest? And, your mind? And, when does your soul most at rest?

How might the messengers of God attend to you?

Feel free to share this with us; go to the DISCUSSION BOARD.

IMAGE OF GOD: How does the picture of God sending angels to make sure Elijah gets food, drink and rest and that Jesus gets cared for compare or contrast with your own image of God? Can you imagine a God who insists on you getting rest? [This week’s photographs focus on God creating places of rest.]

CONFESSION: I tend to pack my schedule. I move from one big project to another. I love the idea of rest. But there’s often a Grand Canyon between my theoretical embrace of rest and my execution of it.

This month I end my job as pastor of community at Warehouse 242; a role I have had for over six years. I love my church community, the staff, the people. Yet I’ve sensed for a while I’m to reclaim a dream I had twenty years ago, a dream to collect stories from abroad and bring them back to the US to see what we can learn.

I have an amazing opportunity that would eventually let me pursue that dream, but it’s not set. As much as I want to make sure its happens and can’t wait to start, this past week I requested rest. I asked that I wouldn’t begin the position for at least a month. This, of course, feels totally risky. Yet, perhaps even more challenging will be to actually create space to rest during this time. I’m already squeezing in trips across the country and lining-up side projects. So, will I let the angels come and attend to me? Will they need to make an appointment? Will I rush them off or even recognize them when they come? I appreciate your prayers that I will choose “the unforced rhythms of grace” in the following days.

HOPE: While our bodies, minds and souls need certain basics to recover (such as sleep, water, food, shelter, acceptance), I believe God provides us with intimate invitations to rest, ones specific to who we are.

One of the times I’ve felt most at rest was during a dream. I had just presented a paper on women in ministry to my church’s denominational leaders in our mid-Atlantic region. The paper was a bit controversial and I was extremely exhausted. I stopped over at a convent in Virginia for a couple of days; there I had a dream that felt more real than the day.

I was at the beach. It was early morning and the gentle scent of grilled fish wafted on the breeze. I noticed that Jesus was grilling breakfast. I wasn’t surprised, just pleasantly aware. His large olive-skinned hands offered me a plate of fish and motioned for me to sit. He sat on a rock and I chose to sit on the sand right at his feet. I slid myself closer, so my knee touched his calf. And I asked Him questions. He was my Rabbi and He graciously let me ask question after question and patiently taught me.

As I reflect on the dream now, it settles me. For me, one way I rest is to converse with and to learn from the wise and gracious, and no one is more wise or gracious than Jesus. Water and a hearty breakfast are grand props for rest as well.

The dream is reminiscent of when Jesus made breakfast for his disciples after his death and resurrection. I love that Jesus attended to Peter, even after Peter had failed his recent test (thrice denying he knew Jesus). The hope for me—and for you—is to trust that God will provide us with opportunities for rest, whether we pass our time of testing like Jesus or fail like Peter. God’s love for us is that extravagant. His desire for rest for us is that great.

SCRIPTURE: Read Psalm 23: 1- 3 slowly, multiple times this week.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

What does this passage tell you about God? What might it reveal about your true identity? If you deeply believed what it says about God and yourself, how might your soul be more at rest this week? How about your body? And, your mind?

LENTEN ASHES FOR YOU: Here’s Pete Brisco’s story about his exhausting pursuit to be the best and what liberated him to be second (www.iamsecond.org/#/seconds/Pete_Briscoe/).

INVITE OTHERS INTO IT: Pray each day for God to give you sacred encounters. Meet for coffee or go on a walk with a friend this week to share how you experience rest.