Silence & Solitude
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, which is about how to have peace in our world of hurry. Our primary research for this series comes from a book called “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,” which was written by Pastor John Mark Comer who did extensive study on the unhurried life of Jesus. So what we’re doing in this series is we’re learning from the life of Jesus, how to live an unhurried life like Jesus. What we’re learning specifically from the life of Jesus today, is the importance of practicing silence and solitude. Practicing silence and solitude is critical for living an unhurried life, because it not only helps disconnect us from a life of hurry, it also helps disconnect us from the digital carnivore we call cell phones, which constantly devours our time. In fact according to a survey done by Microsoft, 77% of young adults said the first thing they grab when there isn’t anything occupying their time, is their phones. But young adults aren’t the only ones who struggle with this. Most of us struggle with this digital carnivore devouring our time! Some of us can’t even go to the bathroom without our phones!...
Several years ago The New York Times published an article titled “I Used To Be A Human being,” written by Andrew Sullivan. In the article Sullivan states, “There are books to be read; landscapes to be walked; friends to be with; life to be fully lived…This new epidemic of distraction is our civilization’s specific weakness. The threat isn’t so much to our minds, even as they shape-shift under the pressure. The threat is to our souls! If the noise doesn’t relent, we might even forget we have a soul.” But the good news is today we’re learning from the life of Jesus, how to restore our soul. Jesus gives both skeptics and believers an invitation to find rest and restoration for our weary, burdened, hurried souls. Jesus said in Matthew 11, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me...and you will find rest for your souls.” Today we’re learning from the life of Jesus, the importance of practicing silence and solitude, for the rest and the restoration of our souls. So let’s turn to Mark ch 1 and get into it. If you open your bible to the middle, keep turning right, you’ll find Mark. We’ll be in Mark 1:29-38, and the title of the message is Silence and Solitude. The big idea is silence and solitude, disconnects us from a life of hurry...Silence and solitude, disconnects us from a life of hurry...
Here’s your context. At this point in the book of Mark, Jesus is doing ministry with some of his disciples. He’s working hard in ministry, and the text we’re about to study describes a very busy day in the life of Jesus. He’s slammed with all kinds of people wanting his time, and as we study this text we’ll learn about the following three things: 1st The importance of work, 2nd The importance of silence and solitude, 3rd The importance of prioritizing. We’ll learn Jesus deals with a busy day by working hard, by practicing silence and solitude, and by prioritizing. Let’s check it out.
Mark 1:29-38 states, “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 So he went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they brought to him all those who were sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town was assembled at the door...” What we’re getting here is a little glimpse of some of the things Jesus did in a 24 hr day. We’re learning he woke up early to teach in the synagogue, he made a house visit to heal Simon Peter’s mother in law who was sick, and later that the evening he met with a line of people who were waiting for him at the door. The text says the whole town was waiting for him at the door. If you read vs 21 it says all of this was happening on the Sabbath, which was their day off, their day to rest. A typical Sabbath started at Sunset on Friday and ended at sunset on Saturday. So as soon as the Sabbath ended at sunset, people started lining up at the door. Again it says the whole town was assembled at the door waiting for Jesus, and you know it’s a busy day when the whole town is assembled at your door. We don’t know what it’s like to have an entire town waiting for us, but we know what it’s like to have a pile of work waiting for us. We know what it’s like to face a long, exhausting, busy day at work, at school, at home with chores, which is why some of us stay up late and procrastinate in the morning. It’s because we dread facing the long, exhausting, busy day that’s ahead. Jesus knows what it’s like to face long, exhausting, busy days too, so let’s see how he handles it. Let’s see how he handles a day filled with endless amounts of work?
Again vs. 33 states. “The whole town was assembled at the door, 34 and he healed many...” So how does Jesus handle a day filled with endless amounts of work? He gets to work!...He doesn’t procrastinate, he doesn’t put things off, instead he gets to work!...The text says he healed many. He opens the door, gets to work, and starts healing many people physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. So the 1st thing we’re learning from the life of Jesus is The Importance of Work. We’re learning Jesus wasn’t lazy, instead he was a very hard worker. In fact he started off working as a blue collar worker helping the family business as a carpenter. This is important because when we’re talking about eliminating hurry in our lives it isn’t an invitation for us to be lazy. It isn’t an invitation for us to not work or to be lazy with our work. Jesus worked and wasn’t lazy with his work, even to the point of sacrificing his very own life for us on the cross. He wasn’t lazy with his daily work in life or his eternal work on the cross, so as his apprentices we shouldn’t be lazy with our work either. Instead we should work hard like Jesus, and our work should reflect the ethics and excellence of Jesus. Colossians 3:23-24 states, “Whatever you do work heartily, as for the Lord...” In other words whatever you do, you’re to do it as if you’re working for Jesus. We’re to view our work as if we’re working for Jesus, which means our work should reflect theethics and excellence of Jesus. We should be some of the hardest working employees in the world, even if we hate the work we’re doing, because we know at the end of the day we’re working for Jesus.
Theologian Martin Luther once referred to our professions as masks God wears to care for the world. Luther states, “When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to ‘give us this day our daily bread.’ And he does give us our daily bread. He does it by means of the farmer who planted and harvested the grain, the baker who made the flour into bread, the person who prepared our meal.” Luther’s point is that it takes many people, from many places, working many professions, fulfilling many purposes, just to be able to bake bread. But all these professions serve a purpose in creation, and are God’s way of answering our prayers for daily bread. They are masks God wears to care for the world. So you might feel like the work you do is meaningless, but it isn’t meaningless to the people benefiting from your work, and it isn’t meaningless to God. When we’re talking about eliminating hurry in our lives it isn’t an invitation for us to be lazy and not work, because we’re working for Jesus and our work is serving a purpose that’s benefiting others. We also know Jesus wasn’t lazy with his work, so as his apprentices we shouldn’t be lazy with our work either. Jesus handles his busy day by getting to work, instead of procrastinating or being lazy with his work. But how does he manage the stress of his work? How does he manage all the stress that comes with having a long, exhausting, busy day at work? Vs 35 tells us how he manages it.
Vs. 35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.” Jesus manages the stress of his busy day at work, by going to a deserted place and praying. This is the 2nd thing we’re learning from the life of Jesus, and it’s The Importance of Silence and Solitude. The text says Jesus woke up very early the next morning, he went to a deserted place, and was praying. In the original Greek manuscripts the Greek word for deserted is eremos, and it can be translated in several different ways. It can be translated as a deserted place, a desolate place, a lonely place, a quiet place, a solitary place, a wilderness or desert. The Greek word eremos can be translated in any of those different ways. But the point is Jesus left early morning to go to a quiet place and pray. He didn’t sleep in, he didn’t hit the snooze button 20 times like I do, instead he got up early morning to practice silence and solitude before facing another hard busy day. What’s interesting is we have records of Jesus doing this frequently. Records of him balancing a lifestyle of hard work, with a silence and solitude from that hard work. For example, in Mark ch 6 Jesus sends his disciples out to work in pairs preaching, teaching, ministering to others. They’re working so hard, they didn’t even get a chance to eat.
Mark 6 states, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place.” Jesus tells them to go away to a “remote place,” and it’s the same exact Greek word that’s used in ch 1, which is “eremos.”
Another example is in Luke 5, “The news about Jesus spread even more. Large crowds would come together to hear him, and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.” Once again the word “eremos” is used here, and we’re told the crowds were lining up to see Jesus just like before. But once again Jesus is making sure he’s withdrawing to deserted places to pray. It even says he often withdrew to deserted places to pray, meaning it’s a regular part of his life instead of an occasional part of his life. What Jesus is showing his apprentices and us, is what we need more than anything else when we’re facing a busy day isn’t a cold beer, a glass of wine, or wasted time on our digital carnivores. What we need is a quiet place to pray, to practice silence and solitude sitting with Jesus, so he can help bring rest and restoration back to our soul. Having a cold beer, a glass of wine, binge watching something on Netflix can numb your soul for a little while, but it can’t bring rest and restoration to your soul like Jesus can. If we’re rarely ever experiencing rest and restoration from Jesus, it’s possible it’s because we aren’t withdrawing enough to quiet places to pray and seek Jesus. I mean what if the issue isn’t with his absence, it’s with our absence? What if the issue isn’t with him being too busy and disconnected, it’s with us being too busy and distracted?...If that’s the case then the solution is to be present and connected with Jesus by going to quiet places and praying. It’s to be present and connected with Jesus, by practicing silence and solitude frequently instead of infrequently. If we want to live an unhurried life like Jesus, we need to withdraw to quiet places like Jesus. As his apprentices we need to learn from him when it comes to working hard, but also learn from him when it comes to practicing silence and solitude so we can disconnect from our life of hurry.
Again vs. 35 states, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying. 36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and when they found him they said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ 38 And he said to them, ‘Let’s go to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.’” Notice the text says everyone was looking for him, meaning everyone was wanting his time and attention again. They’re lining up at the door again. But instead of meeting all their demands, Jesus stayed focused on what his greater priorities were, which in this case was to preach to people in the other towns. Jesus says this is why I have come, which leads to the 3rd thing we’re learning from the life of Jesus. It’s The Importance of Prioritizing. Jesus knew how to prioritize his life. He knew exactly what to say “yes” to, and what to say “no” to. This is something I personally struggle with a lot, and it’s a major hindrance for me when it comes to living an unhurried life like Jesus. It’s that I say yes too much, and I don’t say no enough! It’s that I say yes to doing too many things! Even if those things are good things, it becomes a bad thing if I’m overcommitting to the point where it’s pulling me away from the greater priorities in life. Years ago I read a book written by Andy Stanley called Choosing To Cheat: Who wins when family and work collide? It’s about how every time we say yes to something, we’re choosing to cheat and take time away from something else. Every time we say yes to something, we’re saying no to something else. So we need to say yes to our greater priorities in life, and no to the things that are pulling us away from those greater priorities. What are those things for you?...What are some things you need to say yes to, and what are some things you need to say no to, so you can prioritize your life instead of letting the tyranny of the urgent run your life?...Jesus knew how to prioritize his life, instead of letting the tyranny of the urgent run his life. If he didn’t prioritize his life the tyranny of the urgent would’ve ran his life, pulling him away from his greater priorities in life. He knew his greater priorities weren’t to meet everyone’s demands in one town. It was to spend silence and solitude with God the Father in a quiet place, and to preach in other towns so others could know him too.
See there are two different kinds of busy, a healthy busy and an unhealthy busy. A healthy busy is when you prioritize your life and stay focused on the things that are most important in life. An unhealthy busy is where you let the tyranny of the urgent run your life, and you let other things distract you or pully you away from your greater priorities in life. Which of these two reflects your life?...Do you have a healthy busy where you prioritize your life around the most important things in life, or do you have an unhealthy busy where you let the tyranny of the urgent and other things run your life?...Is the reason you’re living such a hurried life because you have too much work and not enough time, or is it that you have enough time but you’ve given yourself too much work?...Is the reason you’re living such a hurried life, because you’ve said yes to too many things?...The truth is the Lord’s given us enough time in a 24 hr day to do what he wants us to do, but we sometimes say yes to too many things he doesn’t want us to do. We need to learn to say no to the things he doesn’t want us to do, so we can make time for the greater priorities he wants us to do. If we want to have a healthy busy, have an unhurried life like Jesus, then we need to have a balanced life like Jesus. We need to work hard, practice silence and solitude, prioritize our lives like Jesus. Here’s 3 quick things you can say “yes” to this week that can help with that.
#1 Say “YES” to a quiet place - Say yes to a quiet place, to having silence and solitude with Jesus. Schedule a time and place where you can turn your phone off, read your bible, and sit with Jesus in prayer. It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 minutes or 30 minutes, just make sure you completely unplug from all your distractions so you can quiet your soul, in a quiet place.
#2 Say “YES” to prioritizing your life - Say yes to prioritizing your life, instead of letting the tyranny of the urgent run your life. Spend time this week prioritizing your life, praying and thinking through things you need to say yes to, and things you need to say no to in your life. Pray asking Jesus what he wants you to focus on the most, and then focus on those things. If you start drifting away from those priorities, start falling prey to the tyranny of the urgent and daily distractions, then sit back down to reprioritize your life again. Say yes to a quiet place, and yes to prioritizing and reprioritizing your life, asking Jesus to set the pace and agenda for your life.
#3 Say YES to mini Sabbath moments - A mini sabbath moment is where you take a quick 5-10 minute break to rest when you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed by your busy day. In Mark 1 the people waited for the Sabbath day of rest to end before coming to Jesus, but Jesus made sure he often withdrew to rest and pray even when it wasn’t the Sabbath day of rest. So the next time you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed by your busy day, have a mini Sabbath moment where you take a quick 5-10 minute break to step outside, go for a walk, enjoy God’s creation, and pray slowing your life down enough to have silence and solitude with Jesus. Slowing your life down enough to settle your unsettled heart, even if it’s only for a few minutes. The more you say yes to a quiet place, to prioritizing your life, and to having mini Sabbath moments throughout your busy day, the more you’ll align your life with the healthy, balanced, unhurried life of Jesus.
The big idea of the message is that silence and solitude, disconnects us from a life of hurry. It disconnects us from a life of hurry and distraction, but it also reconnects us to Jesus who can give us rest and restoration. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins so we can enjoy eternal rest and restoration in heaven with him. But he also wants us to enjoy daily rest and restoration in him as we spend time in our daily relationship with him. It’s through faith in Jesus and sitting in quiet places with Jesus, that we’ll find rest and restoration for our souls. So will you let the tyranny of the urgent run your life, or let silence and solitude with Jesus bring rest and restoration to your life? Will you live a hurried life without Jesus, or live an unhurried life in the quiet place with Jesus? Jesus chose the quiet place, but the question is will you?