After a hiatus (I fell asleep on the job), here is number six from “Gestures Toward a Theology of Sleep,” by Russell Johnson, Lauren Greenspan, Lindsay Eierman, and Perhaps Anonymous Others.
“6. “Come unto me,” Jesus said, “All you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This lends itself toward allegorical interpretation, and rightfully so, but I wonder if there is a literal meaning as well. Think of a prayer shawl, a symbolic yoke for the work of prayer. A faithful Jew in prayer, like an ox in the field, is cultivating the earth for a harvest of YHWH’s justice. “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Part of me wants to say, “Tell that to the martyrs…” The work of Christ seems to be anything but rest, but it is when we feel overburdened by the strain that we are reminded us to pray.
“Prayer is a paradoxical toil that works through rest. The yielding, the releasing unto God, is a key part of carrying on Christ’s work on earth. The rest that Christ promises is neither the feeling of ease and peace, nor a total absence of work. It is rather a resting– a way of acting through settling into God’s redemptive work. C.S. Lewis makes a good point when he says that in addition to the Lord’s Prayer being petition for God to work, it’s a summons for us to serve; “Thy will be done– by me– now.” But there’s another dimension to which this confession itself enacts that which it invites. Our resting in God, our saying, “Thy will be done,” is the Kingdom sprouting forth from the tilled soil. This is a moment of rest ushering in a new world of rest.”