Napping is good, napping with Jesus even better

True or false: Jesus took naps? It’s kind of a weird question. I mean, he is God, and napping is such a human thing. But he is also man. The question is: is he a napping kind of man?

My son Thomas and I recently published a First Communion Activity Book, and on one of the pages we offered a true/false questionnaire about the humanity and divinity of Our Lord. 

So, did Jesus take naps?

The question kind of unsettled me. To say he napped seemed a little disrespectful, maybe because I associate naps with my own weakness. Those days that come when I am suddenly overcome with exhaustion and I steal my daughter’s amazing purple blanket and rest on the couch for as long as they’ll let me. 

It’s not like I’ve been out laying concrete or ploughing a field or anything. It’s just everyday mom life – I suppose that’s more than we give it credit for – and it can wear me out. 

We looked at each other, Thomas and I, and I said, “Well, yes, I think he napped.” There are multiple incidents mentioned in the Bible of Jesus going away to rest. Many of those times, he was followed incessantly by the people, so it might be fair to say that at least he wanted to nap. We know he was asleep on the boat while the waters raged against them. The disciples were wide awake and working while he slept. That’s a nap, I think.

Regardless, Our Lord, as an infant, certainly napped in the arms of Our Lady and St. Joseph. What a beautiful idea. 

So, “true.” Our Lord took naps.

I had a conversation with a friend about the busy-ness of our priests. To invite them for a meal can take weeks of scheduling, cancelling, and rescheduling. They have meetings and parish councils, papers to sign, and contracts to navigate. Not really the meaty pastoral work of saving souls that many of them signed up for, if I’m not speaking out of turn. The question my friend and I were asking was, “When do they have time to rest with Our Lord?” 

Time and rest.

With all of the sufferings of Lent – withdrawal from sugar, meat, liquor, television, screens, and general laziness – we might miss a very blessed opportunity to rest with Our Lord. 

I noticed on Ash Wednesday, firstly, how pathetically weak I am, and secondly, how much quiet there was in the house while we waited for the day to be over. If those moments of quiet and waiting were spent quietly waiting with Jesus, how refreshing this time of “suffering” could be. If we find a quiet place in our homes, even if only for a few brief moments, to pray, read Scripture, or just rest in his presence, we will find ourselves growing more in love and peace. We will be more enabled to do the work set before us.

God does not desire meaningless suffering. He accepts our sufferings as an offering for sin and as a way to unite ourselves with the suffering Saviour. 

I will end with an event that is so small but so meaningful to me. My family and I were at a weekday Mass in Chilliwack. Mass ended, and Father Gio came over to invite us to see the new chapel. I thought he was referring to a model, perhaps, of the adoration chapel he’s been hoping to build, God bless him.

Instead, we entered the rectory and he led us to a door. He and Father Felix had emptied out a large storage closet, truly beautified it, and had an altar made to hold Our Lord in the Eucharist. There was just enough room for three kneelers and chairs behind them. 

When the door was opened, I saw the seminarian living with them was already there praying. I sat down and felt so blessed and joyful. That they had taken the time and money to make the space beautiful meant so much to me. That they had taken the time and money to bring Jesus that much closer to themselves was a blessing. 

The priests’ journey to the church sanctuary hadn’t been that far, but they had made an investment to bring Jesus even closer. And when we opened the door, someone was already there praying. These priests were making it a priority to have Jesus close with them. They were making it easier to rest with him.

There is a poetic symbolism that this chapel is a former storage closet. Storage closets are meant to store … stuff. We fill them with things we want but might not need. We shove things in there that we want to keep but don’t want to look at. 

This one was emptied out to make space for Jesus, to make a space to find time and rest with Our Lord. That is Lent. And it’s the makings of a good priest and good Christians.

Share your thoughts and contribute to the ongoing conversation by sending us a Letter to the Editor.