A Week on Rest

A Week on Rest

Dear Friends,

I hope you found the last two weeks’ looking at difficult Biblical passages interesting and useful in your own thinking about what we might mean when we say the Bible contains the Word of God.  Thank you to everyone who has emailed me with their thoughts; it’s lovely to hear what you made of them.

We turn now for a week on something rather more restful – a week looking at some Biblical ideas on rest.  We live in a culture which prizes hard work and in a church where ministers often over work – due to temperament, job design, or need.  Yet the Bible has quite a bit to say about rest.  The Creation narratives have God resting after creation, the Jewish Law prescribed rest on the Sabbath, every seventh year, and for the Jubilee.  Elijah’s famous encounter with God – after his butchering of the pagan priests – required him first to rest, eat, and sleep.  Yet rest is sometimes understandable but gets in the way – the disciples, after quite a bit of wine, slept in the Garden of Gethsemane to Jesus’ frustration.  So this week we focus on rest with Ruth Browning, Ruth Watson, Sue Cossey, and Gwen Collins.  

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship