People do it every day. In beds. On couches. In chairs. On the floor. Some of you will be doing it right here in just a few minutes.

Sleeping.

But it's not as easy as it sounds. To have trouble falling asleep is a common problem. About half of Americans report that they have difficulty sleeping, at least occasionally, according to National Sleep Foundation surveys. These problems with falling or staying asleep -- commonly called insomnia -- have far-reaching effects, including a negative impact on concentration, productivity and mood.

Fortunately, help is on the way, courtesy of a number of luxury hotel chains. These establishments are now pushing a growing list of amenities -- some free, some quite expensive -- to help you get a good night's sleep.

The Wall Street Journal reports that at the Renaissance Resort and Spa in Miami Beach, sleep amenities include lavender aromatherapy in-room massage, with a lavender-scented eye pillow designed to treat pressure points around the eyes. Followed with a choice of tea.

The Hotel Burnham in Chicago has a pillow library. Yes, you heard right: A pillow LIBRARY. One that includes a body pillow, a buckwheat hull pillow, or an "eye delight" pillow made with flaxseed. "Dream sachets" can be placed inside the pillow to elicit a particular dream, including a sachet to help you remember the content of your dream.

Wyndham Hotel & Resorts recently started welcoming repeat guests with cooling eye pads in the shape of cucumber slices.

And the chic W Hotel chain offers eye gels in the minibar, and CDs that include selections of wind breezes and rain. (Nicole Harris, "Can't Sleep? Try the Eye Gel in the Minibar," The Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2002, D1-D6)

These creature comforts certainly sound enticing, but they carry no guarantee of sleep success. In 1996, Hilton Hotels began to offer sound machines, meditation CDs, blackout drapes, eye masks and earplugs to their guests, at no extra cost. But they scrapped this program in 2001, sensing that all the in-room paraphernalia gave guests a sort of a "sick-room feeling."

People sleep best in bedrooms, after all -- not hospital rooms.

Jesus also has concerns about men and women not being able to sleep at night, but his solution does not involve eye gel in the minibar. From his perspective, the root cause of insomnia is a lack of meaning and purpose and direction in life, not a shortage of lavender-scented eye pillows.

The key to a good night's rest is a well-spent day, according to Jesus. And so he hits the road and calls people to follow him.

In today's passage from Mark, Jesus passes along the Sea of Galilee and spots a couple of fishermen, Simon Peter and Andrew, casting a net into the sea. Jesus says to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people," and immediately they drop their nets and follow him. Moving a little farther down the shoreline, Jesus spots another pair of brothers, James and John, and calls to them as well. They, too, leave their work and follow Jesus (1:16-20).

This break with family and occupation is extraordinary, but it illustrates how desperately these men crave new meaning and direction and purpose in life. According to New Testament scholar Pheme Perkins, these fishermen are not in bad shape, financially; in fact, they are pictured as being prosperous enough to own houses and employ hired hands to assist in the fishing enterprise. They are established members of local society, doing quite well by the standards of the day, and are making an important contribution to the welfare of their extended families by participating in the fishing industry. But still they drop their nets and follow when Jesus beckons. (Pheme Perkins, "The Gospel of Mark," The New Interpreter's Bible [Nashville: Abingdon, 1995], 539)

Clearly, they sense that the call of Jesus comes from God. They know that if they don't respond to this invitation, they won't be able to sleep at night.

How about you? How is God calling you to follow him on a new path, a path of deeper meaning and purpose? Maybe you've gone searching for a better night's sleep at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, where they offer lullabies performed by a string quartet and soloist. Perhaps you've taken advantage of their turndown service, which includes the lighting of votive candles, the serving of fresh-baked cookies, and the uncorking of a bottle of wine.

But still you tossed and turned.

The key to serene slumbers is always going to be a day in God's way. And that involves taking the time to figure out just what it is that the Lord is calling you to do. Perhaps you're being asked to leave your current job and enter some form of professional ministry. Or accept a new volunteer position with the youth of the church. Or move to another state for a challenging job opportunity. Or take on a mission project. Or change your college major. Or enter the Peace Corps. Or get married. Or remain single.

When Jesus says "Follow me," the paths can take many forms. The best road for one person is not going to be the right route for another. But what unites these paths is that they all lead to the kingdom of God, and are marked by richer life, love, peace, joy, creativity, and communion with God and other people. What pulls them together is the discovery that they all have a divine and life-giving source, and that they all enable you to sleep better at night.

So how can you figure out which way to go? Not by checking into a Loews Hotel, and taking advantage of their in-room menu of air purifiers and sound machines that generate soothing ocean noises. Figuring out how you can follow Jesus in the way of God is best performed by engaging in a process of discernment -- a process of careful, prayerful perception of what God wants you to do, such as the one developed by a man named Ignatius of Loyola, the Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus.

According to Ignatius, the process of discernment always aims at increasing your participation in the work of God, and it is always performed for the glory of God and for the healing of the world. Now it's true that most of us cannot break out of our routines and go off on a 30-day retreat, as Ignatius would recommend, but this does not mean that we cannot do the work of discernment -- the work of seeking the mind of God on a particular question.

Discernment involves reflection, prayer, and paying attention to feelings of " consolation" and "desolation" -- feelings that are either harmonious with the Spirit of God, or out of tune with the Spirit of God. The process requires a passionate commitment to follow God, a growing indifference toward all other drives and desires, and a deepening sensitivity to the ways of God. What it leads to is the discovery of the right direction for your life, and a deeply peaceful feeling that you have done the best you can to follow the way of the Lord. (Frank Rogers, Jr., "Discernment," Practicing Our Faith [San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997], 107-110)

What do you think? Are you ready to be discerning? Ready to drop your net and follow Jesus? Are you ready to check out of The Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia -- which does, incidentally, offer a stress-relief bath complete with a Zen drawing board for doodling? Are you ready to discover what it means to respond to the call of God?

The process begins right here, and right now. It begins here in worship. It continues at our Annual Meeting, when we discuss some of the opportunities being presented in the life of this church. It might last for days, or weeks, or the rest of this year. As you ponder what Jesus is calling you to do, you'll try to become aware of the diverse dimensions of what lies before you. You'll look at many alternatives, positive and negative, and bring these alternatives before God in prayer. You'll pay attention to your feelings -- feelings of consolation that give rise to life, love, peace, joy, creativity, and communion. You'll also note feelings of desolation, emotions that give rise to despair, confusion, alienation, destructiveness, and discord. You'll rely on both your heart and your head to lead you, lead you to the choice that gives you the deepest feelings of consolation. This will most likely be the choice that you should act on, the choice that brings you closer to the kingdom of God.

It's so important to act. To be like the first followers of Jesus and make a decisive decision to walk in God's way. There was simply no hesitation among those fishermen when they received Christ's invitation -- "immediately," reports Mark, "they left their nets and followed him" (v. 18). And in the end, their radical decision to head in a new direction did not destroy their family relationships, as some might have feared. Simon Peter's family home ended up becoming a center from which Jesus and his followers performed their ministry. They stepped out in faith, and God blessed their boldness.

Will the same be true for you?

A good night's sleep often follows a day of walking. There's nothing better than a strenuous workout to guarantee serene slumbers, not even in-room massages, body pillows, string quartets, or eye gels in the minibar. And if your walk is a hike behind Jesus, then you have the added benefit of feeling that your energy has been exerted along the right path, toward deeper meaning and purpose in life.

No personal lullabies or pillow libraries can give this kind of peace. Only a walk, following Jesus. Amen.

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