Chaplains’ Chat

There is certainly something good about a long weekend. There is a great opportunity to enjoy a slightly extended break from the very busy lives that we lead. After the last weekend, there were many people (staff and students alike), suggesting that a long weekend more often would be a good thing! Not too many would disagree. But as I thought about this, I found it interesting to think about what lay behind some of these reflections. So many of us lead very busy lives, and when we have a chance to rest, we typically enjoy it. Indeed, work and employment are good things. It is often the demands of these things that can cause fatigue. But our family lives can also be very demanding. And yet, as we enjoyed that extra day of rest this week, I am sure we all could see the benefit. A chance to recharge the batteries, to perhaps get on top of a few things that were outstanding, but also the chance to pause from the organised busy weeks we are involved with.

Physical rest is a good thing. And yet I also reflected on how we have been made in God’s image, and as such, God has also created us to rest. The wisdom of God in having a ‘Sabbath’ in the week can not be underestimated. We just can’t sustain seven days a week of constant work and activity. Students find it hard to believe when I tell them that growing up when I was younger, there were hardly any shops open on a Sunday and little Sunday sport. People really did typically enjoy rest at home and extended time with their families. And while there is wisdom in the physical rest, the Bible points to an even greater rest of being in relationship with God. The goodness of the physical rest that we enjoy from a long weekend points to the deeper rest of knowing God and being secure in him in our lives. A relationship with Him is what we are made for.

Rev Anthony Benn
Chaplain