Two painters were once asked to paint a picture illustrating their own idea of rest. The first chose for his scene a quiet, lonely lake, nestled among mountains with a reflected sky. The second, painted a thundering waterfall. Beneath the falls grew a fragile tree, bending over the foam. On its branches, nearly wet with the spray from the falls, was a robin with its nest.
The first painting was simply a picture of stagnation and inactivity. The second however, depicted rest. It was also more relevant to our lives, rest amidst the tumult of life. When you think of it, for one who spoke about divine rest and peace, the 33 years of Christ’s earthly life occupied one of the most troubled times and places in history. And yet, anyone could have gone to him at any time and found rest. Even his first greeting after Easter to the disciples was “Peace.” Early Christians learned that the Church does not belong to any partisan group (first reading). It is open to all, as surely as is the gift of divine peace and repose.
Rest is not a feeling, a kind of temporary peak experience. It’s a state of calm rising from a heart deeply and firmly established in God.
“All will be well and all manner of things will be well” Julian of Norwich.
(Comments to Tom at tomascox@eircom.net )