Tag Archives: Sabbath

What’s the Purpose of Sabbath?

Leave a reply

A Sermon for 3 June 2018

 

A reading from the gospel of Mark 2:23-3:6.  In this season of Pentecost, the gospel texts assigned in the lectionary take us to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry according to the gospel of Mark.  The oldest of the four gospels we know in Holy Scripture, you might recall that the gospel of Mark also is the shortest.  As if in a very matter of fact way, the writer simply lays out one story after another of Jesus showing up on the scene at his baptism, then taking off all over Galilee with the good news of God.  This gospel never concerns itself with the birth of Jesus, or (in its original form) with resurrection appearances of the Risen Christ.  The writer seems to want to focus the action of it all, and the listener’s attention, on the ministry of Jesus, the Christ.  Healing is a big part of what Jesus went about doing in Galilee.  As is teaching and sending and generally starting a movement of followers who likewise will live in the world as leaven for the dough – expanding acts of compassion, signs of welcome, traces of the good news of God’s gracious love.  In these weeks following Pentecost, when we celebrate the early stages of the church; we’ll be learning from the gospel of Mark.  Taking in the wisdom of Jesus’ work on earth.  Hearing again the good news he embodied.  Hopefully we’ll even be challenged to continue our own growth as followers too of Christ.  Listen for God’s word to us, then, in a reading of Mark 2:23-3:6.

“One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.  24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?”  25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?  26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.”  27 Then Jesus said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”  Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.  3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?”  But they were silent.  5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.  6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.”

This is the word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!

 

Have you been to the home of an observant Jew for Sabbath?  When three stars can be seen in the evening sky – Sabbath begins on Friday at night.  So that creation is the keeper of time, not the clock.  No later than eighteen minutes before the sun sets, the family is to gather around the Sabbath table.  Two candles are to be lighted by the matriarch of the house.  She waves her hands over the fire then covers her eyes welcoming in the Sabbath.  Reciting the candle blessing she says:  “Blessed are you, O LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe” – or something similar.  “You have sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to light the lights of Sabbath” (http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer/shabbat.htm).  One candle stands as the command to remember.  The other as the command to observe – to keep the Sabbath.  The command we know as number four of the ten found in Exodus chapter 20.  The fruit of the vine is a part of every Sabbath ritual – just 3 ounces for each person present at the table.  In celebration of God’s good creation, the fruit of the vine is consumed.  Hands are washed as a symbol to put down the week’s work.  Ready selves to rest.  It’s a good time to be mindful of the work of your hands from the past week.  Considering what your labors planted and what if anything grew.  Let the toil of work slip away and prepare to be fed by God.  Finally, the bread is broken – all eat as God is blessed for bringing forth bread from the earth.  Some of you know that I do a Christian version of a similar welcoming of Sabbath ritual.  And it is at this point in the ritual that my dog Rufus begins to get a little antsy.  He knows when the bread is broken, he finally gets to participate too.  One little piece of the bread for him, one little piece for me, another for him, another for me until the bread is all gone.  All creation is hallowed by God.  Exodus 20:8-11 proclaims that neither “you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien residents in your towns” shall do any work.  On Sabbath, all are allowed to rest to delight!  For, as the story goes:  “in six days the LORD made the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it” (Exodus 20:10-11, NRSV).  Delighting in all the work that had been done!  At the Sabbath table, after partaking of the bread of remembrance, it’s time to get down to enjoying together the full family meal.  For Sabbath has come!  It’s the time to rest from the work of our lives.  To be idle in God.  To be opened to God.  It’s the time to pay attention; to hear our names:  precious children of the LORD our God.  Sabbath is the time to stop.  To cease.  In order to seek the true purpose of our lives:  rest in the peace of the LORD.  It is the time to taste and see that the LORD is so very good – the Creator and Sovereign of the universe, the redeemer and liberator of the slaves in Egypt.  So that all together, in freedom, we might rejoice.

A poem called “For Sabbath” by Blu Greenberg, as quoted by Mary Ann McKibben Dana in the great little book called Sabbath in the Suburbs, summarizes Sabbath well.  “Six days shall you be a workaholic; on the seventh day, shall you join the serene company of human beings.  Six days shall you take orders from your boss; on the seventh day, shall you be master of your own life.  Six days shall you toil in the market; on the seventh day, shall you detach from money matters.  Six days shall you create, drive, invent, push; on the seventh day, shall you reflect.  Six days shall you be the perfect success; on the seventh day, shall you remember that not everything is in your power.  Six days shall you be a miserable failure; on the seventh day, shall you be on top of the world.  Six days shall you enjoy the blessings of work; on the seventh day, shall you understand that being is as important as doing” (written by Blu Greenberg as quoted by MaryAnn McKibben Dana, Sabbath in the Suburbs, Chalice Press, iBooks).

We’ll get back at it again in 24 hours.  Sabbath only lasts until sundown Saturday night.  Then at the close of Sabbath, observant Jews again gather.  Passing the sabbath spices for the fragrance of sabbath to linger among them as they re-enter the work of their lives.  Another candle is lighted.  In Light for the Journey:  Morning and Evening Prayers for Living into God’s World, Christine Sine recommends a prayer for Christians who have observed sabbath rest.  An adapted version of it reads:  “Jesus, we believe that you are the Messiah who has given us new life.  We have lived this day in anticipation of your resurrection-created world, where your eternal sabbath rest waits for all creation.  Your sabbath rest is all-inclusive:  we remember your promise of renewal and rebirth for all life.  You promise to take our yoke upon you.  Your sabbath rest shares our burdens.  You promise to set the captives free.  Your sabbath rest frees from oppression – from the crushing ways of this world.  You promise to feed the hungry.  Your sabbath rest brings abundance for all.  You promise to heal the sick.  Your sabbath rest brings us wholeness.  Not alone, but together, a great international community that is your body, we live in expectation of that day . . . when your eternal sabbath rest comes for all creation” (adapted from:  Light for the Journey:  Morning and Evening Prayers for Living into God’s World, by Christine Sine – from Sunday Evening Prayer, p. 37).

According to the gospel of Mark, the keepers of the law had forgotten the purpose of Sabbath.  Sabbath is a day to be nourished deeply by God.  What more could be welcomed on a beautiful Sabbath afternoon than a stroll with Jesus through a grain field?  With the sun shining down on us as we walked.  Taking in the silence and the wisdom of our Lord.  Who among us wouldn’t break off a piece of the wheat?  Young again like children who pull a piece of tall grass to put in their mouths as they stroll.  Could Sabbath get any better than that?  What’s more, if among us was One with the power to heal a man whose life certainly had been hindered from an unusable limb, could a rule about what you should or shouldn’t do on the LORD’s Day supersede God’s desire for restoration?  For the true vision of shalom?  . . .  From the start, Jesus was going to be in trouble.  He saw the world differently.  He knew what really mattered.  Sabbath rest was made for us.  Not us for ensuring some lofty set of principles would be kept intact.  God desires mercy; not the heavy arm of the law.  It’d be easy to wag our fingers at those bad Pharisees who were just so blind, you see.  The beauty of the gospel is that every piece of it is a mirror for our own soul.  Who among us doesn’t get a little up on our high horse now and again?  What human alive, when challenged, doesn’t slip into the comfort of the rules that must be followed?  And, if you were raised in such a way that everybody else around you believed your view to be the only way, how would you ever know anything different?  Yes, Jesus was going to be trouble – he still is; for he sees it all according to another vision.  Not the view splashed all over the media, surrounding us at work or home; but by the vision of God.  The LORD of True Life.  The Lover of every soul.

One commentator has written:  “Jesus proclaims to his own generation – and to every generation, including ours – that God is not confined to our rules about God or to our way of perceiving God.  . . .  The difficult truth of the cross is that we would rather kill Jesus than be transformed by his love.  . . .  When God gets too close to us, challenging us as Jesus challenged the religious order of his day, we begin to construct our crosses and prepare a place for God there too.”  The writer then asks:  “What field is Jesus walking through in our lives, plucking ears of corn from our sacred rituals?  Who is Jesus healing that we believe should remain sick?  What is Jesus doing in our time that makes us believe that he is foolish at best and dangerous at worst?”  (Nibs Stroupe, Feasting on the Word, Yr. B, Vol, 3, p. 95).  Sabbath gives us the time each week to ponder.  To rest from everything else that we might rightly see.  That we might be re-directed when needed by God.  Perhaps it’s why so few stop.  So few cease.  For when we settle into the cadence of Sabbath rest, God finally has a chance to begin saving our lives.  May it be so.

In the name of the life-giving Father, the life-redeeming Son, and the life-sustaining Spirit, Amen.

© Copyright JMN – 2018  (All rights reserved.)

 

Freedom and Rest

Leave a reply

A Sermon for 21 August 2016

A reading from the gospel of Luke 13:10-17. Listen for God’s word to us.

“Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.”

This is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

 

Remember the Blue Laws? Some fifty or more years ago in the United States, no matter where you went on Sundays, most everything was closed. The doors of sanctuaries were open and it was expected everyone who was anyone had their entire family with them in a pew. Laws throughout the United States banned such things on Sundays as open restaurants, open department stores, open car lots, and open liquor shops. “You did not even hear the whistle of freight trains . . . on Sundays, because it was illegal to haul goods on the Sabbath” (Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World, p. 128). Sunday had become the day you did not! Radically, to this day, a county in New Jersey still bans “the sale of clothing, shoes, furniture, home supplies, and appliances on Sundays” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_law). And of course, we all know that if you want to enjoy some wine over Sunday dinner or a beer for the afternoon ballgame, you better be sure to stock up before Sunday morning arrives.

Ironically, the fourth of the infamous Ten Commandments begins not with shall not but with this: “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). . . . Remember the Sabbath day? Way back in Genesis 1 and 2, the Great Creator went about all the work of making this amazing world. Separating light and darkness, crafting an environment in which creation could thrive – waters above, waters below, with dry land in there too. Fruit trees and pines and, as the story was told from the perspective of the land tucked between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, certainly there were figs and pomegranates and grapes galore. The stars twinkled in the brilliant night sky and the moon waxed and waned to keep track of all the seasons. Fish and cattle and creeping things of every kind came into being until earth was mixed with the divine breath to concoct such a creature as had never been before: humankind came into this world! And then, at last – not because we wore God out in our making, though the news each day might cause us to wonder – then, the Great Creator stopped. It was finished. The Great Creator paused in delight declaring: “Ah! Very good! Very, very good indeed!” . . . Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy – because God wants everyone of us to stop too. To pause, if just from one sundown to sundown, to declare in delight: “Ah! Very good! It all is very, very good indeed!” Set apart in this way, we too make the rest holy.

That was the purpose of Sabbath, at least until the Exodus when Sabbath took on another meaning as well. Observant Jewish brothers and sisters welcome Sabbath in their homes each week with the lighting of two candles when at least three stars can be seen in the sky. One is this candle command of creation – the pause for creatures to delight. To rest. The other is the candle of freedom. Once we were enslaved by the ways of the Pharaoh. But God heard the cries of the people. The wringing of hands over if there would be enough this month to feed the children. Would we ever get a break from the boss who has been breathing down our necks these past several months over our performance on the job? Is that all it all is: toil for a paycheck and worry everything shall work out? . . . Will we ever get a break from defining ourselves by what we do and being defined by others in that way too, instead of simply being accepted for who we are – warts and all? God hears all those cries. Every wonder and weary worry. In response, once a week for a whole 24 hours; we are free! None of it matters. We are invited to put down such heavy burdens to take a walk in the park with someone we love who loves us back just as well. We can take a nap no matter the piles of dirty dishes or chores to do outside. Lay in a hammock or rock out on the front porch if only for 20 minutes just to listen and observe. Rest from the pecking order of this world at least for one whole night and one whole day and see if you wake ready to worship the next morning. Do it on a Saturday, as was first the plan; so that the next day you can gather with others in the faith to swop stories over how good it was for just one night and day this week to rest in the freedom of God.

That is what has Jesus all incensed in the story before us in the gospel of Luke. At a glance it might appear all is well, but the Sabbath command is violated. Not by the one accused of doing the healing. Rather, this particular synagogue leader failed to see the burden on the shoulders of a woman bound by her body for eighteen long years. They would untie their ox or donkey every Sabbath that the animals might get what they needed – even on the day of rest and freedom. But that synagogue leader would not have it that a child of the covenant might get a bit better treatment than beasts of burden on the weekly day to live God’s freedom and rest! . . . Notice that this woman didn’t seek out Jesus. The text says nothing of her coming to the synagogue expecting any sort of healing that day. The author gives great detail that the woman was “bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight” (Luke 13:11). So that even if she wanted to seek out Jesus, about all she’d be able to see as an identifying mark in her search would be feet. Some of you live with back problems that have hindered you to stand up tall to look another straight in the eye. You know the pain that becomes the constant companion. The desperation of wanting to be well. And if you’ve been dealing with it for nearly twenty years, you know too how crushed a spirit can get. So crushed, it would seem, this woman just goes to the synagogue – no indication she’s expecting any sort of release, even there among religious folk you might hope would be concerned enough to find a way to help. . . . Though the leader might spit in his criticism that she was in the wrong for seeking healing on the Sabbath; the story never questions her motives or throws any sort of blame her way. Jesus who has stop to rest and remember – to delight in the goodness of it all and to be free from anyone else’s expectations – while Jesus is observing this day of Sabbath in the synagogue, he sees someone who needs immediately to be set free. Likely, he saw a whole synagogue full of faithful Sabbath-keepers who desperately needed to be free. Free from law over grace. Free from rules trumping compassion. Free from external expectations over the will of God. Free from mental, emotional, and spiritual ailments that weigh heavy upon the backs of every last one –even if those burdens haven’t yet imprinted physically on the body. None of it is ok with this faithful Sabbath-keeper. Keeping his eye on the true intent of the fourth command; with one word, much like the Great Creator at the beginning of it all, Jesus releases the chains upon this woman’s back. He lays his hand upon her and in an instant she is set free. With a full body alleluia, she stands upright, for the first time in eighteen years, to praise God! . . . True Sabbath. True freedom. True joy-filled rest as a beloved child of God! In the whole room, they’re the only two rightly practicing Sabbath. The only two resting in the delightful freedom of the LORD!

In An Altar in the World, the book we’ve been reading this summer in Home Book Club, Barbara Brown Taylor reminds that Sabbath is a “’palace in time’ . . . into which human beings are invited every single week of our lives. The question is: “Why are we so reluctant to go?” (p. 127) . . . I get it. For far too long we’ve been told it’s all about thou shall not. For far too long we’ve let the world around us demand our time and attention. Maybe you’ve been taught to believe Sabbath is all about Sunday and “going to church” – which is not at all what the bible records anywhere! Sabbath is about entering the beautiful palace in time each week to sit a spell, not in an effort to do anything holy, but just to be. Just to rest and remember that we are free. Free from it all because the Great Creator hears us and loves us and commands us just to stop. That in itself is holy! . . . If one sundown to the next sundown is too long for you each week, then at least begin with an hour – preferably sometime Saturday so you at least have some bit of gratitude in your tank when you race in to worship on Sundays. Give it a try, if you don’t already. And enjoy the freedom and rest of God! It is so good. So very, very good indeed!

In the name of the life-giving Father, the life-redeeming Son, and the life-sustaining Spirit, Amen.

© Copyright JMN – 2016  (All rights reserved.)

Overloaded

Leave a reply

mount_nacheesmo (2)I’m thinking plates. Electrical outlets. Suitcases. You know: anything we have the tendency to overload. Keep putting more on/in and before you know it: boom! A seam splits. The current is cut. The airline charges you an extra $100 overweight fee.

A few months ago I was meeting a nun for a spiritual direction session that was to be followed by body work. I told her all about the painting I started. The book I began writing. The blog to which I tried to post each week. Not to mention, in those very moments, I was preparing to attend the first of six spiritual direction training intensives followed by three months of beginning to work dreams in a clergy dream group. I was like a kid in a candy shop who finally found her professional life manageable enough that personal pursuits were once again possible. I had taken up yoga. I got back to working out each day. I even started juicing fruits and vegetables for breakfast every morning. The sister and I had a wonderful conversation about all the amazing ways life was opening up before me. Then, I got on the massage table to have my energy read as the first part of a healing touch exercise. After our conversation, she was more than a bit puzzled that my creative energy was closed.

I wasn’t. It was a gentle wake up call. A reminder to re-prioritize. You see, I finally am in professional work that allows enough energy and time to put towards personal, creative endeavors. And little by little, it all had become a chore. Not something to look forward to each week when my regular day of Sabbath rest rolled around; but tasks on a list that I have to accomplish by certain, set deadlines. I was starting to dread Sabbath instead of welcoming it as the blessed gift of renewal it is meant to be.

We might be able to pull a fast-one on a nun who really doesn’t know us well, but the instrument in which we live our daily lives – our bodies, minds, and spirits – cannot be fooled. My personal life, with all the possible creative pursuits, has become overloaded.

I admit: I’ve felt guilty about it. There are so many wonderful things I want to do these days. So much I want to undertake in hopes of putting something beautiful and inspiring and helpful out into the world. And then I remember all the over-stuffed suit cases with which I’ve tried to travel the world. The mounded plates from buffet tables I’ve done my best to consume. Balance remains my life-long struggle.

I’ve put down the paint brush, at least for now. I think words are more my gift than acrylics. The dream work commitment soon will come to an end and I am re-thinking how I might use that time instead. Perhaps for more journaling and blogging or getting on with chapter ten of the book. Finally I’ve decided that if I have to do as much reading as I must for spiritual direction training, I will NOT choose to read the 500 page Jungian analysis book just because I already own it. I ordered Thomas Merton instead today. And Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Keating. Only one of the three is required, but how can one resist the beautiful insights of such iconic, spiritual gurus?!

The balancing act continues.

How about you: how are you doing on NOT overloading?

Keep in mind the wisdom from one of my favorite refrigerator magnets: Only a field that lies fallow will produce great fruit!

In other words, pick one or two favorites and remember to rest really well too!

-RevJule

Rest?

Leave a reply

A friend of mine who works a lot of hours was told last week that they are a grown adult.  They don’t need a day of rest.

Shudder, shudder, shudder!  Ugh, ugh, ugh!

It was in fact a church member telling a church staff member that such time for personal rest was not necessary.  The church member was angry that my friend put self care above meeting their expectations.  I was mortified.

The longer I live, the more I understand that there is a very fine line between the good ole’ Midwestern work ethic and work-aholism.  Every week I seek to practice Sabbath — an intentional pause.  To cease.  To stop.  In order to rest.  In order to re-connect with God in ways I cannot  during demanding weeks of professional and personal responsibilities.  To listen to my true name:  precious child of God — not because of anything I do; but just because of God.  Sabbath rest reminds me that I am not God.  It’s not all up to me.  If the church wants a Savior, I know a much better direction in which to point them.  🙂

I love the latest words about Sabbath that I discovered in Mary Ann McKibben Dana’s wonderful book Sabbath in the Suburbs.  Mary Ann quotes Blu Greenberg, who writes:  “Six days shall you be a workaholic; on the seventh day, shall you join the serene company of human beings.  . . .  Six days shall you be the perfect success; on the seventh day, shall you remember that not everything is in your power.  . . .  Six days shall you enjoy the blessings of work; on the seventh day, shall you understand that being is as important as doing.”

I need this reminder everyday, which is why I seek the balance of a sustainable life for my body, mind, and spirit.  I don’t always get it right — which is why I keep on practicing.  I used to spend untold hours on a basketball court seeking to perfect my jump shot.  I figure I can give just about the same amount of effort to perfecting a life as centered as possible.  Some days I’m like a wobbly lump of clay about to spin off the potter’s wheel.  Other days I’m as ready as pliable clay in the potter’s hands, about to be made into something absolutely beautiful, useful, useable for the sake of another.

Rest . . .  no matter what any other voice might tell us:  ALL adults need it.  All adults have been created for it by a most generous, peace-giving Creator.  The Holy One who longs for us just to be together!

What have you noticed about such Sabbath rest?

Let us all know here — especially if you are a working parent or someone taking on more just to make ends meet.  Extra prayers go to those of you!

RevJule

 

Sabbath Rest

Leave a reply

Today I have practiced Sabbath: my time to stop, to cease, to allow the voice of God to define me — not any others. I keep Sabbath according to creation from sundown to sundown every seventh day, but more on that in another post.

This Sabbath included an early morning at the Nashville National Cemetery. I’m not the most patriotic type and would prefer we didn’t expend dollars and lives on the things of war, but I promised I’d join with our church choir for this community performance. And I do love to sing.

I learned today that inspiration can sneak up on you when you least expect it. I never would have imagined how easily tears would come to my eyes and how my arms would get all goose-bumped during such a ceremony. It started halfway through our first song (“God Bless America” — though I pray God blesses all other lands as well; but I really did feel a sense today that this is the land that I love). Later when we sang a tribute to each branch of the armed forces, those who have served came forward to stand right next to us. I was the soprano at the end of the line so an Army veteran came to stand next to me. His left elbow brushed up against my right elbow while we sang. After the song, it took a while for me to collect myself enough to turn to him to extend a hand of gratitude. All I could muster as I looked him in the eye was the simple phrase: “Thank you.” I guess it was something about their willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of others — or maybe be drafted, but go anyway. My maternal grandfather served, though he never saw a frontline. I learned today that while I may not always like the decisions of our country’s leaders, I am inspired by the courage and generosity of our country’s men and women.

Sabbath proved to be a time of creativity, rest, and unexpected inspiration! Thank you to all who willingly serve.