Rest Home

"When Jesus invites us into the rest of his easy yoke, he is not saying that we can take it easy while he does all the work. Rest is not a couch where we kick back in front of the TV, glad to be home for the holidays. Rather, it is the place where we learn the rhythms of the work we made for from the One who made us. Rest is coming home to the way of life that fits, learning to inhabit the story of God's people and practice the craft of life with God wherever we are."  

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, The Wisdom of Stability, page 61.  

  

I do not hear the phrase "rest home" used much anymore, and I miss that comforting phrase. Yet, there are communities where I do get a sense of purposeful rest - of letting people be who they are today, in the bodies they have today, but not abandoning hope that life can be meaningful at all stages of our lives.  As I ponder this, I realize that I do not think I have ever seen a picture of Jesus where he has wrinkles.  Now, we know know Jesus spent a lot of time outdoors, and while he was certainly not European American, his dark skin must have shown the signs of one who did not live a sheltered life. His ministry as we know it began in his 30s which in his time was not all that young.  Lifespans were much shorter, and for many, including an itinerant preacher and healer, unpredictable. I think we have skewed our thinking of Jesus, Mary, and the disciples and made them perpetually young.   

 

Of course, we all have our own interpretations of Jesus and Mary and hopefully these interpretations stir us into being more loving in this world, regardless of the images we hold dear.  However, it may be time to let them be  wise elders, not just those in perpetual youthful bloom. Jesus may be more of a model for aging than we realize.  The gentle yoke is for all stages of life.  When I  think of someone who is drawing close to the end of his lifespan saying, "Let the little children come to me," I hear it with even greater tenderness.  I have an image of a sage, slightly bent, definitely wrinkled, gathering the children in and offering them protection them from the heat and passions of the day, much like a venerable old tree. The invitation and the journey is for all.  May we all find rest in this embrace.    

  

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Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.  

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Matthew 19:14-15​