The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost- The Rev Melanie Lemburg

The Very Rev Melanie Dickson Lemburg

The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost-Proper 11B

July 21, 2024

 

        I’m sure y’all know that we’ve had Vacation Bible School here at St. Thomas in the evenings this past week.  Now I’ve been doing VBSes for my whole ordained life.  (I did miss it one year; I was getting dressed to go, and then discovered that I had gone into labor with our son Jack.  We sent Mary Margaret to church with my brother and sister-in-law because “The VBS must go on.”)  So it’s strange that in all my years of doing VBS, every year, I seem to forget just how much fun it can be. 

        I’ve been thinking about that this week and talking with colleagues about it, and I’ve realized that it is because at VBS even the adults give ourselves permission to play. 

        In our gospel reading for today, Jesus and his disciples have regathered after Jesus has sent them out in pairs to proclaim the good news of the gospel, calling people to repent, casting out demons, and curing the sick.  The disciples are excited to tell Jesus about all that has transpired while they were out working, and Jesus says to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Jesus gathers them all together and invites them to rest together after their work.  And I can’t help but wonder if there is a certain amount of play and playfulness in this homecoming gathering? 

        Dr. Stuart Brown, who is the founder of the National Institute of Play defines play as “anything that is spontaneously done for its own sake…(Play) appears purposeless and produces pleasure and joy.”  Brown’s research focuses a great deal on the importance of play for children and how that helps them build identity, but he also writes about the importance of play for adults.  He writes, “The human being really is designed biologically to play throughout the life cycle…From my standpoint as a clinician, when one really doesn’t play at all or very little in adulthood, there are consequences:  rigidities, depression, lack of adaptability, no irony…things that are pretty important that enable us to cope in a world of many demands.”[i]

        So, can you think of the last time you really played?  When was the last time you did something that was spontaneous and for its own sake, with little or no other purpose?  What was that like for you?  How did you feel?  What might play have to teach you about your relationship with God?  Your invitation this week is to pay attention to how and how often you play, and to intentionally work to cultivate play as a sabbath practice this week. 

---

[i] I can’t find an original sources for either of these quotes from Brown.  They are quoted by Ben Conachan in his sermon “Getting Rest:  Hours for Sabbath, Rest, and Play” for Pearl Church on May 21, 2023: https://www.pearlchurch.com/sermon-archive/2023/5/21/getting-rest-hours-of-sabbath-rest-and-play?format=amp