Lent 2026 Guide-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 22
Devotion 2
Inspiration
We are rested when we let things be alone and let ourselves alone, to do what
we do best, breathe as the body intended us to breath, to walk as we were
meant to walk, to live with the rhythm of a house and a home…When we
give and take in an easy foundational way we are closest to the authentic self,
and closest to that self when we are most rested. To rest is not self-indulgent,
to rest is to prepare to give the best of ourselves…Rested we are ready for the
world but not held hostage by it, rested we care again for the right things and
the right people in the right way. – David Whyte, “Consolations: The Solace,
Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words”
Reflection
Rest is the opposite of what Tricia Hersey, in her book Rest is Resistance,
calls ”grind culture.” It is also foundational to our faith. On the seventh
day God’s work of creation was done and God rested (Gen. 2:2). God’s rest
became the basis for the Sabbath as a day of rest (Lev 16:31), the Sabbatical
year as rest for the land (Lev. 25:3-6), and the Jubilee Year as a time of pause
and social restoration (Lev. 25:8-17).
Jesus also sought rest and promised us rest: 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.’
– Mark 6:31
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
– Matthew 11:28
Action in Contemplation
Rest isn’t necessarily lying on the couch. Rest can take many different
forms. What does rest look like in your life? What in your life stands in
the way of rest?
– Cathy McMullen, Creation Care and Justice Committee
20
