Daily Worship

A resting place

Campbell Dye November 16, 2022 0 1
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John 4: 1-6 (NIVUK)

1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptising more disciples than John – 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptised, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

The gospels record extraordinary miracles and document the universe-changing teachings of Jesus.  They also contain a wealth of day-to-day, humdrum detail which – to me – gives them colour and authenticity. It is this mundane content which reminds me that we are looking at historical events relating to a living, breathing man. This is history, not fable.

But, even in these mundane sections – this one is about Jesus’ itinerary – there is something to learn.

First, there is a geographic precision to the story – the precise location is explained in detail. We know, therefore, we are dealing with fact, not fiction.   

Secondly, we see the humanity of Jesus, tired and thirsty from a journey under the blistering middle eastern sun. This is a living, breathing man, not a two-dimensional storybook character.

Thirdly, there is the all-important lesson that we need to rest. Sometimes we treat how busy we are as a matter of pride. We can tend to boast about how packed our diaries are and how we never have time for ourselves.

Rest is good. Rest is necessary. Rest is an opportunity to reset, to renew, to revisit.  We need to cherish rest, not resent it. We need to plan times and places of rest where we can shed the pressure, the busyness, the endless activity. Find a time to be with God. If it was good enough for Jesus....

 

PRAYER:

 

Father God, in your arms I can find my peace. Grant me the wisdom to find times of rest when I can lay down the business of the world and come to you – a child resting in the embrace of its father. AMEN.