Once there were
two gardeners, Juan and Pedro, attending to two adjacent lots. One day, they
were tasked to trim the grass and shape the plants in their assigned gardens.
Using their pair of garden scissors, Juan and Pedro began to cut the grass and
plants. Juan continuously did his task, cutting the grass and shaping the
plants tirelessly. He noticed, however, that Pedro stopped from time to time
and took a rest under the shade. Juan remained uninterrupted in his task while
Pedro took occasional breaks. Before midday, as they were about to finish their
work, Juan observed that both of them had accomplished the same amount of work,
though Pedro rested from time to time. Juan curiously asked Pedro how was that
possible since he (Juan) worked longer than him (Pedro). Pedro revealed that
while he was resting under the shade, he reviewed what he had accomplished so
far and looked at the plants from a distance to see if he was doing it right.
In addition, while under the shade, Pedro was sharpening the blades of his
scissors, and was removing the pieces of wood and grass which were stuck in his
scissors which may have consequently rendered his tool feeble. All this time,
Juan thought Pedro was idle under the shade while resting. Juan was mistaken.
Rest is an
important aspect of our life. God created it on the seventh day. He admonishes
us to take a rest too. In our world that measures success based on the amount
of our work, resting seems to be a dispensable thing. But resting is not
idleness. It is not necessarily an unproductive break wherein one wastes time
for nothing. Rest allows us to review what we have accomplished so far; to see
what paralyzes us and to formulate the next step we shall take.
In the gospel
(Mark 2:1-12), sin caused paralysis. Sin hinders us from doing what we ought to
do. It renders us unproductive. It can be said that paralysis is the natural
mechanism of the body to communicate to us that something is wrong. We have to
stop, pause and examine ourselves to see what prevents us from accomplishing
our duties. Why does our efforts bear no fruit? (Sin blocks the grace of God
from flowing to our life and our work.). Rests, strategically placed in our
daily, weekly, monthly and annual schedule are meant to strengthen us by
allowing us to examine our life. We diagnose the sins that render us
unproductive, recognize them, and beg the good Lord for mercy and forgiveness.
There will be people (friends) who will help us to seek healing and forgiveness
so that our strength may be restored allowing us to carry our own mats and go
home and go on with our lives.
Resting is not an
idleness (the workshop of Satan). It is a prayerful pause that allows us to
examine ourselves, what paralyzes us, what prevents us from receiving Jesus to
our life. The intermittent pauses in our life ought to prepare us for the rest
that awaits us in the Kingdom of God.
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