Sunday Sermon July 28, 2024 - Jesus Cancels Tiredness
Jesus Cancels Tiredness
PSALM 6
An elementary school photographer was snapping pictures of first graders, making small talk to put his subjects at ease.
“What are you going to be when you grow up?” he asked one little girl.
She looked at him, shaking her head back and forth, and said, “I am going to be just like my parents when I grow up. I am going to be tired all the time!”
As a full time parent with a full time job, let me tell you, that little girl is right. I am tired ALLLLLL the time!
Let me ask you, “Are you tired this morning?”
And, I don’t mean, are you tired from not getting enough sleep last night.
What I mean is, are you tired from the relentless demands of life?
Listen to this list of words and ideas:
Troubled
Fading strength
Failing strength
Weary
Whimpering
Sobbing
Tears welling up
Weeping
Grief
Burdened
Weak
Desperate
Desperately wanting help
Desperately needing help
Wanting to scream
Worn out
Burned out
What were you thinking as I read off that list?
I tell you what I was thinking.
I was thinking…
“Yes.”
“Check”
“That’s me!”
“That’s how I feel”
“Amen”
“Preach it”
“Was somebody listening to me share my feelings with my wife this week?”
Maybe you are in the same boat now, or have been in this boat before.
So, I ask you again, “Are you tired?”
Well, if you are tired from the relentless demands of life that seem like crushing weights on your back, you are not alone. Not only am I here with you feeling that way, King David, the writer of this morning’s Biblical text is here with you as well.
Let’s hear about the tiredness that Kind David experienced as he brings his life to God in prayer.
King David’s prayer is Psalm 6 says this:
[1] O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
[2] Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
[3] My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?
[4] Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
[5] For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
[6] I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
[7] My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
[8] Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
[9] The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
[10] All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Listen to the words that King David uses to describe his mental and physical state.
He says:
His bones are troubled
He is languishing (which is a fancy way of saying weak)
His soul is greatly troubled
He is thinking about death
He is weary
He is moaning in pain and agony (both mental and physical)
His tears are flooding his bed
His couch is drenched with weeping
He is filled with grief
He is weak
He is screaming at God asking “How long do I have to suffer? When are you going to rescue me? Don’t you love me?”
And, he is tired of the people around him. He wants to yell at the top of his lungs, “Leave me alone!”
The list of words and ideas that I shared with you a few minutes ago—the list that described what it feels like to be tired from the relentless burdens of life—is actually a list of words and ideas about how King David felt—straight from the Bible.
Let me ask you another question.
Have you ever been worried to the point that it made you physically sick?
Our mental burdens often have the ability to affect us physically.
When we are overwhelmed and burdened with worry, we experience headaches, anxiety attacks, nausea, sometimes to the point of throwing up, we have trouble focusing on one task, and we can’t shake tiredness.
King David’s mental tiredness, that led him to be physically sick and tired, stemmed from his worry over two separate issues.
The first issue that made King David tired of life was his worries about other people.
He was mentally and physically tired because he was worrying about what other were saying, or could possibly say about him.
And, he was mentally and physically tired because he was worrying about what other people were trying to do, or could possibly try to do to harm him.
The second issue that made King David tired of life was his worries about God.
He was mentally and physically tired because he was worrying about what God would and could do to him because of his sin.
In 2005, A store called MinneNAPolis opened in Minnesota’s Mall of America. It rents comfy spots where weary shoppers can take naps for 70 cents a minute. Founded by PowerNap Sleep Centers of Boca Raton, Florida, the new store includes themed rooms such as Asian Mist, Tropical Isle, and Deep Space, and the walls are thick enough to drown out the sounds of squealing children outside.
The company’s website says, “Escape the pressures of the real world into the pleasures of an ideal one.” “It’s not just napping,” reads the press release. “Some guests will want to listen to music, put their feet up, watch the water trickling in the beautiful stone waterfall, breathe in the positive-ionization-filtered air, enjoy the full-body massager, and just take an enjoyable escape from the fast-paced lifestyle.”
David wanted rest more than anything else.
He wanted rest from his manic state of worry and panic.
In his words and thoughts in Psalm 5, which we heard from 3 weeks ago, King David knew that his disobedience to God’s laws for life and love put him in a position where God have every right to punish him or destroy him.
But, his prayer showed that he knew the truth about God, the Father in Heaven, the Creator of all that exists.
King David knew the truth that God offers forgiveness for disobedience, forgiveness for ungodly thoughts, forgiveness for unGodly words, forgiveness for unGodly deeds, forgiveness for wrongdoing, and the forgiveness for sin, whatever you call it—the stuff that goes completely against God’s holiness.
King David’s prayer, here in Psalm 6 shows King David’s confidence in God to heal, deliver, punish sin, rescue him, guide him, protect him, and provide for ALL his needs—physical, mental, emotional, and relational.
David’s prayer starts with the plea, “Help me! Save me from myself!”
And, David’s prayer ends with the confidence that because of God’s grace, God will save him and allow him to rest.
King David could rest because the most important thing in his life was fixed and could never be broken again—his relationship with God.
The bottom line in this morning’s text is this:
King David was tired from the relentless burdens of life but God and his grace allowed David to rest.
King David’s words in Psalm 4 say:
[7] You have put joy in my heart…
[8] In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:7–8, ESV)
God took David to his own MinneNAPolis.
God’s promises and God’s active work in David’s life canceled David’s ultimate tiredness.
The bottom line for you this morning is this:
You are tired from the relentless burdens of life but, God and his grace allow you to rest.
For you, Jesus cancels tiredness—the tiredness that comes from worrying about what other people think about you and what other can can and will do to you.
For you, Jesus cancels tiredness—the tiredness that comes from worrying about what God thinks of you and what God can do to you because of your sin.
The first question that is proposed and answered in Luther’s Small Catechism, one of the books we use to teach our Confirmation class is:
What are God’s thoughts about me?
And, the answer given and the Bible verse quoted are:
“God’s thoughts about me are thoughts of love and blessing.”
John 3:16—For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus calls his followers to obey God and rest.
Mark 6.31 has Jesus commanding his disciples with these words:
[31] … “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”
The idea of resting in and with God was not new to Jesus’ ministry.
God built rest into Creation. So, rest is natural — regardless of what your anxiety, workaholism and worry tell you.
[1] Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. [2] And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. [3] So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1–3, ESV)
And, God made rest one of the Ten Commandments. Rest is good for you.
[8] “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10] but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8–11, ESV)
In Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus tells you how that Godly rest comes about for you. Jesus says:
[28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (ESV)
With faith in Jesus, you can rest, because all of the work that needs to be done to restore your relationship with God is done. It is completed 100%. It is finished.
Those are Jesus’ exact words to you as he looks at you from the cross. As he breaths his last breath on the cross, bearing all of the guilt for all of King David’s sin, for all of my sin, and for all of your sin, Jesus says to you,
“Rest because the ultimate work of pleasing God is finished for you!”
This is the Word of God for you today.
This is the Grace of God for you today.
Amen.
Reverend Fred Scragg V.
July 28, 2024
