My Pillow

Finding our rest and refreshment in the Mass

01/18/2019

Hebrews 4:1-5, 11 Let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed. For in fact we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did. But the word that they heard did not profit them, for they were not united in faith with those who listened. For we who believed enter into that rest, just as he has said: As I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter into my rest," and yet his works were accomplished at the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works; and again, in the previously mentioned place, They shall not enter into my rest.

I am sure by now you have seen the infomercial advertising the product called “My Pillow.” I am sorry for complaining about it, but that is an extremely annoying commercial and makes me immediately change the channel. What irks me most about the infomercial is its claim to cure virtually every sleep disorder and much more, for instance, it supposedly takes care of fibromyalgia, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, cerebral palsy, acid reflux, etc. In 2016, a class action lawsuit was brought against My Pillow and the company paid over $1 million in restitution for false advertising. Apparently, the company had not done the human testing to be able to back up those claims of health benefits of sleeping on their pillow product.

But I believe part of the success of My Pillow rests in our own restlessness (put intended), that is, we are all looking for a good night’s sleep. We all hope and pray that the perfect pillow will solve this pervasive problem of insomnia. We are all like the fairy-tale figure of Goldilocks, who tries the three beds of Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear to find that one that’s “just right,” so we can finally rest for real. We go through life looking for the best rest, and the My Pillow product seems to be the answer to our problem, but some of its claims are more puffed up than the pillow itself.

The Letter to the Hebrews dedicates almost the entirety of chapter four to helping its readers find real rest. Instead of a pillow, however, Hebrews offers us a passage, namely, Psalm 95. There God promises his people that one day they would enter into his rest, God’s own rest. That is, God does not say to us, “Here’s my pillow,” rather he says to us, “Here’s my rest,” God’s own rest. And do you recall when God rested? Hebrews is happy to remind us, saying: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”

For Jews the Sabbath was Saturday the seventh day, but for us Christians the Sabbath is Sunday, not the seventh day of rest but the eighth day of resurrection. And where do Christians find the best rest on Sunday? Not really in rocking back in our recliners watching football and infomercials, but at Mass, where we offer to God the sacrifice of his Son on the Cross. Jesus’ own “my pillow” was not an open-cell, poly-foam design but the hard wood of the cross. Jesus predicted what his pillow would be in Luke 9:58, saying: “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” In other words, when we come to Mass on Sunday, we realize there is no real rest for a Christian in his life; real rest will have to wait till the resurrection. The only pillow we will have is the cross and we unite ourselves to Jesus on the cross for the salvation of the world when we attend Mass.

By the way, may I mention that I have actually gotten some good sleep at Mass? My family always attended Christmas midnight Mass. The first thing I did after we sat down in the pew was lean my head on my father’s shoulder and promptly fall asleep. My pillow was my father’s strong shoulder. I work hard to prepare my homilies hoping they will keep you awake. But to be honest, I don’t mind if you fall asleep, at least you’re here at Mass. I just ask that you do not snore and wake up the other people who are trying to get some rest. I am so impressed with our Hispanics who attend English Masses even though they do not speak English. Why are they here? They don’t just have to overcome listening to a thick foreign accent, but they have to overcome a completely foreign language. I believe they come because they are not searching for the maker of “My Pillow,” but rather for the Maker of “My Rest,” that is God, in whom alone do we find the best rest. And the best rest is in the motions and meaning of the Mass, even if you cannot understand one word of it.

Yesterday, I was talking with a group of people at dinner, and asked them why Catholics leave the Church to join popular, non-denominational churches. They all agreed that people find a message there, as well as music and engaging activities. But one person also added: “But they will not find the Eucharist there, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.” Catholics are like Goldilocks going through life looking for real rest and comfort. But the best rest is only found in the Sunday Mass, where God says to us not “Here’s my pillow,” but rather “Here’s my rest.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!