Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - 07/21/24 Rest a While

Episode Date: July 20, 2024

Homily from the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. A person cannot be excellent without rest. Human beings are made in God's image. We are also made for love, for labor, and for leisure. Since the Fall, these gifts have become distorted in our hearts and we have to fight for the ability to love well, to labor well, and even to leisure well. But we must strive to rest well if we are going to be the people God has made and redeemed us to be. Mass Readings from July 21, 2024: Jeremiah 23:1-6 Psalms 23:1-6Ephesians 2:13-18 Mark 6:30-34

Welcome to Sunday homilies with me, Father Mike Schmitz. I hope today's homily inspires and motivates you, and I also hope that it leaves you hungry for the one who gave everything to feed you. If you want to get this in other Sunday Mass resources sent straight to your inbox, sign up at ascensionpress.com slash Sunday, or by texting Sunday to 33777. You can also follow or subscribe on your podcast app for weekly notifications. God bless. The Lord be with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark. Chapter 6 verses 30 through 34. The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all that they had done and taught. He said to them, come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. People were coming and going in great numbers and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in a boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot.

from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd, and began to teach them many things. The gospel of the Lord. Might you have a seat. So, you probably know this,

but at the end of this week, the Olympics in France are kicking off, which is awesome. I love, I mean, if you had to ask, do it like Summer Olympics more or Winter Olympics more? The answer is yes. They're just, I just, it's incredible, like all of the things that Olympic athletes can do. It just, it is, it is in so many ways just the coolest thing because it's, it's not just like the main sports. It's all these like sports that don't have a big following except for it at the Olympics,

but people just demonstrate excellence. And that's it. They demonstrate the greatest physical human achievements. In fact, today, today is the last, the Sunday is the last day of the Tour de France, speaking of physical excellence, human achievement. When it comes to that excellence, like every person who just finished the tour today, every person who's going to compete in the Olympics in this upcoming week or weekend the next couple of weeks.

Every one of them, every one of their lives is marked by excellence. And excellence in what? Excellence in training. Excellence in working on, you know, how many, how much time they spent getting excellent. Like, and their coordination drills, on their speed drills, on their power drills, working on their strength, working on their nutrition, like nutrition completely dialed in, their mental acuity, like all these mental drills that they would take. Like all of these things lead them to a place of excellence.

But I think it's interesting because when I look at the Olympic athletes, I think of all the hard work they do, which is it's true. But I think one of the things that I do maybe is what you do too is I almost always overlook an essential part of their training. Because yeah, they do. They do train endurance. They do train speed and power and all these things. But one essential part of their training is rest, that they sleep. They take mental breaks. In fact, all of the data, like all of the data,

when it comes to excellence in physical ability, points to this that you cannot be excellent without rest. That's just as important as doing the hard work on the track or in the pool or wherever it is. You also just need to rest. So here we are, one of the last, coming to the last end of July, getting closer, which is always just kind of sad. But the question is, it's summer.

and for many people, summer is like maybe an opportunity they have to rest. Here's the question. It's the summer. Have you had an opportunity to rest? And if you have, have you rested in the gospel today, right? We hear this, that Jesus says to the apostles, he says, come away to a deserted place by yourselves with him and rest a while. I think this is really important for us.

We have to understand that the work that Jesus gave them to do, we heard about about it last weekend. The work Jesus gave them to do. Super important. But so is rest. In fact, we're made for rest. This, I mean, this is one of those remarkable things. As you go back to the first chapters of Genesis, we talk about this all the time, that in Genesis chapter one and Genesis chapter two, it reveals that here we are made in God's image or likeness. And the Bible reveals that every human being is before the fall, we're made for three things. We're made for love, right? It's not good the man to be alone. We're made in God's image, so he's love, and so we're made for love.

We're made for labor. God put the man in the garden and says, go work, you know. And we're made for leisure. Because here in chapter one of Genesis, God works for six days and he rests for one and we're made God's image of likeness and we're called to enter into rest. And so here we are, as human beings,

we're made for rest. We're made for labor, for love and for leisure. But here's a problem. The problem is after chapter three, right, the fall, our experience of love is all twisted. It's all distorted. Our experience of labor is twisted and distorted, and our experience of leisure is very twisted and very distorted so that even if we have an opportunity to rest, we typically fall into one

of two camps. We either fall into the camp of just like, okay, I have a break, I'm going to collapse. And we just like, I don't know if you've ever been in this. This is where I find myself a lot when it's like, okay, all the work is done. It's just like, okay, it's dive bomb into the couch. Like, that's all it is. Just collapse. Or we find ourselves, okay, the work's over, but I can't stop.

This is one of the distorted versions of leisure, of rest, is either collapse or I can't stop. And they can't stop stop. I can't stop. It's break now. I can't stop eating. I can't stop binge watching. I can't stop scrolling. I can't stop drinking.

Whatever that thing is, I just keep on going because this is rest time. And so what happens is we end up being burned out. Like, what happens is we end up getting to a place where we want to give up. We want to quit. And we're not made for that, right? Even though, like the tough people, you know, like David Goggins, I actually have a quote from David Gackens on my wall right outside of my bedroom. outside the bathroom, I wrote it on the wall, it's in dry erase.

And he said this, he said, don't stop when you're tired. Stop when you're done. I'm like, I see it. I'm like, yeah. It's fine, I guess. But there was a wiser quote that I came across. I was thinking, okay, don't stop when you're tired, stop when you're done. How about this one? It was so wise.

It said, learn to rest, not to quit. Because I think that's what happens when we get burned out. When we don't rest, we get to the place where we're so stretched, We're so just exhausted that we say, I just want to forget it. I just want to give up. I just want to quit. So I really appreciate that piece of wisdom. Learn to rest, not to quit.

Why? Because this isn't just about how we order our days, how we order our weeks or our lives. This is actually about our identity. Remember, we're made for this. We're made for leisure. But also, whenever you and I enter into rest, we're declaring something true about God. Here's what I mean. You go back to the book of Exodus.

What's one of the commandments? One of the commandments is keep holy of the Sabbath. And part of that keeping hold of the Sabbath is not only worshiping God, it's also resting. Why? Because before God set them free through the Red Sea, what were they? They were slaves. And I don't know if you know this about slaves. The slaves don't get any days off.

Slaves, you, it's Saturday? So what? It's Sunday? So what? It's your birthday? So what? It's a holiday? It doesn't matter.

If you're a slave, you get no days off. And here's God, he's made it very, very clear. You're no longer slaves. And because you're no longer a slave, What you need to do is on that Sabbath day, two things. One is worship that declares that you don't belong to your job, that your boss doesn't own you. Secondly, rest.

And this is absolutely important. Why? Because you're no longer slaves. This is your identity. And that's one of the reasons why we realize that rest is not merely inactivity. Sometimes people think that the rest is just inactivity. So they ask me a question to things like, like, Father, is it okay if I garden on Sunday? Is it okay if I have like home improvement projects on Sunday?

Can I can I do some like redecoration on Sunday? Can I do something that like gets me to sweat on Sundays? Like yeah, that's fine. I'll put it like this. You can do anything that declares not a slave. Whatever that is. So if gardening declares you're not a slave, you can garden. If like working on building a fence declares I'm not a slave, build the fence.

Whatever that thing is that declares I'm not a slave, go ahead and do it. Why? Because this is meant to be, right? creation, you've heard the word broken down. It's recreation. Remember, the Sunday is the day of resurrection. Why? Because it's the first day of the new creation. So that Sunday, like today, day like today, it's meant to be set apart for recreation, which is what? Anything that you might simply do for the joy of it. Like anything you might simply do, not because it's useful, but just because it matters. In fact, I think it was Aristotle who said, he said,

Most important moments are often the least useful. The most important moments are often the least useful. So you can ask the question, like, when was the last time you read something just for fun? When was the last time you just went for a walk, not because it was part of your exercise program, but just because, like, this is just, I just want to enjoy that. It was the last time you actually took time aside and said,

God, I'm just going to spend time with you and entered into prayer. when was the last time you rested? And didn't just collapse and didn't just say, I can't stop. I think a lot of times we don't do it for a number of reasons. One is because we're so busy, right? We fill our lives so much that even on a day that's meant to be set aside for rest, we're like, oh, no, I can't do it. I can't afford to rest because I can't afford to stop.

If I stop, everything's going to fall off the table. So we're too busy. It's one of the reasons. Another reason is I think is because leisure, like actually entering into rest, rest requires an attitude of abundance. How many times we get to the end of the week or the beginning of the week and we're like, there's not enough. There's not enough time. There's not enough resources. There's not enough. It's not going to get done if I, unless I keep going. It's not going to get, if I put it down, it's over. As we have this attitude of scarcity as opposed to

an attitude of abundance. And the attitude of abundance that just says, okay, I can put this down and the world will keep on rolling. Like I can, I can, I can set this aside and can enter into rest and the sun's going to come up tomorrow. I think sometimes not only because we're busy, our lives are too full, not only because we have an attitude of scarcity, but also I think sometimes I can't rest because, well, I can't rest when it's time to rest because I didn't work when it was time to work.

I can't rest when it's time to rest because I didn't do the work that was supposed to get done earlier. I found this happens a lot when it's up to students who will say things like, they're like, you know what, I can't do this thing now. I can't enter into rest now. I can't have leisure now because I should have written that paper when I had the opportunity.

But I just didn't. I put it off and now, here I am. So those could be three reasons why we don't actually know how to leisure because our lives are too busy because I have an attitude of scarcity or because I didn't do the work when I'm supposed to do the work.

But I think many times I don't enter into leisure because I don't know what a rest day would look like. Here's a question. Have you ever thought, what would your ideal rest day look like? Like, if you had the opportunity to enter into rest, enter into leisure, to enter into recreation, what would that day look like?

So a couple years ago, someone asked me that question. They said, what's your ideal? And I was like, I can't think, but I had to take it down. It took it to prayer in here. And I wrote down, like, what would be an ideal day, the ideal rest day for me? And I realized that, man, it is so easy to waste rest. You know, this.

It's so easy when you know yourself to waste rest, but it's also so important when you know yourself to say, this is what would really fill my soul. So I wrote it down and I said, you know, if I had my ideal rest day, I'd wake up early. I wouldn't want to wake up early, but I know that if I don't wake up early, I'm behind the eight ball already. So I'd wake up early on a rest day. I would work out on a rest day because I know that I feel good. I feel better when I do that.

I would pray. I'd say mass on a rest day and have time with you. the Lord. That is so important. If I don't pray on a rest day or don't pray on one of those travel days, everything feels so often awful. I would want time with my family, an ideal rest day. On an ideal rest day, I'd want to learn something. On an ideal rest day, I would want to create something. So I'd want to read something, listen to something, like learn something. But also, I'd want to engage. I'd want to make something. I'd want to create something. And also, I know myself and I want some alone time because I'm an introvert.

I really need that. Family time, friend time, but I also need some alone time. One of the things I noticed about myself is so much of my life is driven by a calendar. Maybe your life is driven by a calendar as well. And I realize that one of the critical pieces of a real rest day for me is there's no appointments, which I know it is like that seems to be beyond the pale. Maybe it seems a little bit too finicky, but not always possible. But I know myself and I know that something on the calendar every other day is so packed

that that rest day just to not have anything on the calendar feeds me. So here's the question. For you, it might be similar. For you, ask the question and pray about this. What might be an ideal rest day for you? What would it be a day where you prayed? A day where you moved your body. A day where you've got a chance to think.

A day where you got a chance to reflect on your life. A day when you got to enjoy something, whatever that thing is with other people. If we don't know what an ideal rest day look like, we're never going to have it. Again, even if you actually don't get it, to know what it should look like is important. Now, two notes on this. One is, when Jesus says, come away by yourselves with me, right, and rest for a while,

let's focus on those last three words for a while. Keep this in mind. Rest days are just that. There are moments of rest, right? There's times. He says, doesn't say, come away with me forever and rest. Come away for a while. And I love this ratio, right?

The ratio of Genesis chapter 1, God works for six days, rests for one. You ask, if we actually took that one day and genuinely entered into rest, the other six days would be great, profound, powerful, productive, beautiful days of work. It's not four to three. It is six to one. I think that's how we're made. Only, though, only if we actually enter into that one day. Another thing to note is, I don't know if you noticed how the story ended today in the gospel.

They're exhausted. Jesus is exhausted. The apostles are exhausted. Come away and rest for a while. They actually do take that time to go away and what happens is they get interrupted. If you are a parent, you know exactly what this is all about. Like, I just, I have been going nonstop.

I just want a break. And then, well, someone comes in your life and is like, you don't get a break today, mom. Like, that's kind of a situation. Every one of us know is this. That you can make all the great plans. You can have your ideal rest day. You can have ideal, whatever the thing is.

What happens is sometimes we don't get it. Here's my invitation. When that happens, don't panic. Because if you've actually crafted a life where there's multiple rest times, you might miss this rest period, there'll be another one. It's kind of like prayer. Like we set time aside on a regular basis for prayer, not because every prayer time is dramatic and powerful and intense,

but because we just want to be consistent. And even if this prayer time was dry, that's okay. that's okay. If this time prayer time was distracted, that's okay. If this prayer time was interrupted, that's okay. I'm showing up tomorrow too. Same thing is true for your rest. If this day or moment of rest gets interrupted, it's okay. Another one's coming. It's only when we don't build rest into our lives that we freak out when someone interrupts that rest period. There will be another chance. This is not your one shot. But also, here's my second and the last thing, to break out of the that your rest day has to be the entire day.

So years ago, there was a priest named Father Bill Bear. He was the rector of the St. John Vanity Seminary down at St. Thomas. It's an undergrad seminary. And he's an amazing, man. He passed away a couple years ago, rest in peace. Incredible guy. And really wise, really holy. And I remember he shared that some of his students asked, like, Father, we want to

honor the Lord on Sunday. We want to, like, take that day and rest. But we have study groups, and we have tests tomorrow, and we have papers that are due. And yes, in an ideal world, my test would be. or my paper would be written. I'd already study for that, you know. And Father Bear said this. He said, oh, about this, guys.

On Saturday at 4 p.m., put your work down. And as the sun goes down, essentially, entering into that Sunday rest day, Sunday day of worship, let that begin your Sabbath. So that's Saturday night, have a chance to hang out with the guys on your floor. Maybe go visit your family if they're in the area.

Maybe some friends from high school if they're around. The next morning, get up. move your body, like exercise, come to mass with the community. Like have a brunch afterwards, you know, because we lived on campus, so it was one of the situations where you just go to the dining hall and have food already made for you. And then at one o'clock, he said, at one o'clock, then pick up your work. If you need to study, study.

If you need to write that paper, write that paper. If you need to meet with the study group, meet with the study group. But don't say, well, I can't, I have to do my homework, so I can't rest. Carb out the rest when you can. And this actually is the last thing. we know that we cannot be excellent without rest. And that also means that we cannot be saints without rest.

St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians today is so powerful. Why can we rest? And he says, because of what Jesus has done for us. That Jesus has broken down the barrier of hostility. That Jesus has broken down all those walls that keep us from peace. and he even says, Jesus is our peace. You guys, every one of our rest days is going to get interrupted. Everyone, even if we craft an ideal rest day,

it's going to be interrupted. But when we know that Jesus Christ is our peace, then no matter what's going on outside of us, and even no matter what's going on inside of us, we can enter into rest because we can always enter into Christ. We cannot be excellent without rest. And we cannot be saint.

without rest. So listen to Jesus. Come aside to a quiet place with him and rest for a while.