Time for Work, Time for Rest
- Sophia Bauer
- May 17, 2024
- 4 min read
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Life doesn't slow down for anyone. I worked in ministry at a parish, and whether or not we were ready for the weekend we still had Mass that needed celebrated, parishioners who needed informed and greeted, and volunteers who needed to be organized and (oftentimes) corralled. It never slows down.
Life doesn't even slow down at home. I would catch myself staring at yet another overflowing sink of dishes, thinking one of these days they'll be self-cleaning and I'll never have to touch the rag again. Laundry would always need done. The floors still need vacuumed. It became more tempting to sell everything and live in the woods. But even then there would be so much work to be done!
More often than not, I find my exhaustion coming not from the quantity of my work, but the QUALITY. If I don't have a why I'm doing anything then I'll end up counting down the seconds until it's time to clock out and try again tomorrow. The work that we do will quickly seem mundane, insignificant, and eventually will lack purpose. Who wants to be told their labor is in vain?
So how do we go gracefully into the chaos?
Work represents a fundamental dimension of human existence as participation not only in the act of creation but also in that of redemption...Man's free and responsible action reveals his intimate relationship with the Creator and His creative power. At the same time, it is a daily aid in combating the disfigurement of sin, even when it is by the sweat of his brow that Man earns his bread. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 263
When we look at work as a means to "enter into" the labor with Christ, it gives the work we do the purpose our hearts naturally desire! We begin to recognize that all of our work can become GOOD WORK for the glory of God. And the best part? We can CHOOSE to counter the tendencies of sin at work or at home. We can choose to look at work not as the toil and pain it became after The Fall of Man, but as our way of tilling and keeping the Garden of our Lord, or as some translations say to SERVE and GUARD—which is the priestly role we're all called to!
There is good work, and on the other side of the same coin is good rest. Contrary to popular belief, you can't have one without the other, and it doesn't always come in the form of flipping between 1000 and 0.
I struggle with rest the most, but for the longest time I thought I was really good at it. I've done both extremes: I've spent Saturdays binging entire seasons of a new show, and I've gone on vacations while periodically checking—sometimes RESPONDING to—emails throughout the week. Yes, BAD rest comes in the form of both "couch potato" and "workaholic". Neither accomplish what GOOD rest is supposed to be, but what exactly makes good rest GOOD?
To answer this question, it's crucial to know what rest actually is. My favorite explanation of good rest comes from Dr. Michael Naughton who has A LOT to say on good rest. He says, "Rest does not mean 'do nothing,' but to be in a state that gives rest to the restless heart (contemplative prayer)." He points out that St. Augustine begins Confessions with the famous saying, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God." This suggests that our hearts are made for worship. Our hearts are made to be in a state of contemplation with our Creator, to ask ourselves, who does God desire me to be and how can I discover this?
Now does this mean if we're not in a perpetual Holy Hour that we're not resting? Of course not! I'm not stopping you but there is more than one way to rest in God. For me, any time I can be outside on a walk or enjoying a cup of coffee on my porch I come to know this rest. It is a moment for my heart to step back and not be flooded with distractions, whether it be from mindless media consumption or getting lost in my business.
The divine rest of the seventh day does not allude to an inactive God, but emphasizes the fullness of what has been accomplished. It speaks, as it were, of God's lingering before the "very good" work (Gn 1:31) which his hand has wrought, in order to cast upon it a gaze full of joyous delight. This is a "contemplative" gaze which does not look to new accomplishments but enjoys the beauty of what has already been achieved. St. John Paul II, Dies Domini
So how do we do good work? Offer everything we do to God. Offer up the phone calls, the email responses, even those Monday morning meetings. Offer up the packed lunches, the extra load of laundry, and the trip to the grocery store. Make everything count, and see how you can help tend the garden entrusted to you.
And how do we do good rest? Allow our hearts to discover God. Go on a walk, stop by the church on your way home, or start a prayer journal. Catch up with friends you haven't been able to see in forever, or invite someone over for dinner. Find what works best for you and retreat to it when you can, even if it's for 5 minutes. When we rest in God, we work with God; when we work with God, we rest in God.
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