The Cure for Sleeplessness

A sermon preached by Father Dwight D. Duncan, ssc, Rector, St Matthias, Dallas, Texas
26 January 2003 - The Third Sunday after Epiphany (Year B)

Scripture: Mark1:14-20


SLEEPING. We do it every day, don't we? On couches, chairs, the floor, in beds. Some of you may do right here in just a few minutes if I am unable to keep your attention!

But SLEEPING is not necessarily easy, is it? Trouble falling asleep is a common problem, with studies revealing that at least half us Americans have difficulty sleeping. And insomnia has far-reaching effects, including a negative impact on our concentration, productivity and mood.

But help is on the way, I've read, at least if we spend a night in one of the luxury hotel chains. Their sleep amenities include such things as:

? lavender aromatherapy in-room massage with a lavender-scented eye pillow designed to treat pressure points around the eyes;

? body pillows, buckwheat hull pillows, flaxseed pillows with "dream sachets" in them to elicit a particular dream;

? eye gels in the minibar and CDs of wind breezes and rain.

To quote Meghan Houk, "There you go!"

As one might expect, the Savior is concerned about our sleeplessness, but his solution does not involve eye gel in the minibar. That is because Jesus knows that the root cause of our disturbed sleep is not a shortage of lavender-scented pillows. NO. The root cause is a lack of meaning in our lives because we have no larger purpose for them but serving and taking care of ourselves. According to Jesus, the key to a good night's rest is a well-spent day, a day spent in serving something much larger than yourself.

Such a solution fits the type of creature we humans truly are. What type is this? We are what God would be like IF he were human; that's the simplest way of putting what it means to be created in his image and likeness.

Now God's very nature is to give himself away to others. He is this first of all within himself: the Father is always sacrificing himself completely to the Son he loves, and the Son is always returning the gift in kind. As God is this way within himself, he is then this way from himself, always giving himself to us his creatures. In other words, the very nature of God is to be centered on others.

For us humans, this means that such is our true nature: we are to be centered not on ourselves, but on others. We all know we've mucked this up. But not to worry: Jesus has come to get us back on track. And part of his regimen for accomplishing this is by calling us to join him in giving ourselves away to a great and glorious enterprise.

Notice what occurs in today's gospel. Jesus has set out on his great mission to save the world for his Father. He knows that his time and space for this mission are limited. The time for him will be the brief time of his earthly incarnation. The space for him will be little Palestine. But time will go on beyond Jesus' earthly life, and the space to be restored to his Father is the entire visible universe as well as the universe of angelic beings.

For Jesus' saving mission to continue and to expand throughout the universe once his brief earthly time is done, a community must be born whose very purpose and work is his own: the salvation of all. Since this community will need a strong foundation to get it started and keep it going, he calls to himself twelve men, whom he will spend three year's refashioning in his likeness. This is what today's gospel is about: the beginning of the construction of Christ's Catholic Church through the call of the apostles.

Did you note the extraordinary thing in the apostles' acceptance of Jesus' invitation? ....... It is not their break with family and occupation. Here it is: "And immediately they left their nets and followed him." IMMEDIATELY!

Why this immediacy? The answer becomes obvious as we read the records of the apostles' lives both in scripture and extra-biblical sources. They left because they craved deeper meaning, direction and purpose in their lives; they had some sense of the fact that God meant them for something more, something larger.

Understand this: at the time of their call, our apostolic fathers were in the same place most of us in this parish are. They weren't in bad shape financially; in fact they were prosperous enough to own houses and employ hired hands to assist in their fishing business. They were established members of local society, doing quite well by the standards of their day, making an important contribution to the welfare of their extended families and community. Further, their religious and moral values were such that the wholesomeness and health of their community were strengthened.

And yet, when Jesus called, they quickly dropped their nets and followed him. Perhaps they had battled with insomnia due to a sense that they were not fulfilling some greater purpose. Whether or not, this they did know when Jesus beckoned: they accepted, or they would not be able to sleep at night.

What about you? What are the boundaries of your purpose in life: yourself or others? Sinful man has no other boundaries than himself. That's where each of us starts. Sin makes us afraid; if we don't look out for ourselves, who will? So we tend more towards greed, hoarding and selfishness than fulsome generosity. We are loath to sacrifice our time, our talents, our treasure for much more than ourselves. But as the heroine of a wonderful film, Strictly Ballroom, tells the hero: "A life lived in fear is a life half-lived."

"Fear not," says Jesus, "I have overcome the world." Indeed, he has. So long as our lives are invested in his, there is no thing we really need that shall not be supplied; there is no hurt we may endure that shall not be healed; there is no end to anything which we call ours, not even the end of our earthly life, which shall not lead to fulfillment everlasting. All this is assured, so long as our lives are invested in his. THAT is the qualification.

Because of this assurance, which Jesus died and rose again to give us, we who belong to Christ are freed to fulfill our purpose of being saving gifts to others. What a dignity is ours! We are collaborators with him in bringing everything and everyone back to his Father and into their eternal kingdom of joy and peace.

It is in the service of this dignity and mission that God bestows gifts on us: every talent of yours, every possession and bit of income, every moment you are allowed, is part of the treasury God has given you to draw upon in fulfilling your great purpose. Will you and I fulfill it? Each of us are free to choose the purpose we shall serve: ourselves ... God and others. Each purpose gives its own rewards. Which do you want?

In the end, those who have chosen to follow after Jesus, living for others rather than themselves, will find this joyous paradox: everything they gave up was returned to them in some way richer and better than when they held onto it for themselves. Peter discovered this quickly. When he lay down his net and followed after Jesus, mightn't he have wondered what would become of his wife and family?

But, look: he was never lost to them nor they to him. Instead, his home and family became a center from which Jesus and the rest moved out refreshed upon their mission. Refreshed, by joyful companionship ... and a good night's rest.

SO ... how goes sleep for you?


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