Sabbath

I didn't preach this week because we hosted Pastor Khader El-Yateem, the Director of Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop for the South Region of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA. He gave a very powerful message. So that you, my faithful readers (especially the Italian contingent), don't have to wait a week, I am offering a never-before published sermon for this Sunday, the 24th after Pentecost in Year C of the lectionary. This was originally preached on November 14, 2004. I haven't updated it, so there are a few dated references but it holds up 15 years later. And I still use the centering prayer included, which was written by David Adam.

The scripture referred to is found in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13.

I don't know about you but I am weary of all the negative Bible passages in the lectionary lately. While we're at it, I am weary of all the fighting in the Middle East, all of the political rhetoric we've been bombarded with for months, all the hurricanes that threatened us, and all of the grief we've endured recently. Life is hard but lately it's been unbearable. And so while trying to find something to preach on in today's less than cheerful scripture verses, I was captured by the last line of our Pauline epistle: "Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right."

How? How do we keep from becoming weary of doing good? How do we face the evil, the pain, the stress that assaults us daily and not burn out?

Believers are not immune to burn out. Moses got weary of the constant complaining of the Israelites he was leading to the promised land. His father-in-law suggested he delegate some of his leadership responsibilities. So Moses appointed 70 elders to deal with various low-level tribal disputes and problems, leaving Moses free to concentrate on more important tasks. But what do you do when you don't have 70 people to assign things to?

The 10 Commandments enshrine some of the most basic ethical principles of the Judeo-Christian faith. Some are obvious: do not worship other gods; do not steal; do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; honor your parents. But there is one that is unique: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." Why is a special day put on the same level as refraining from murder? And why does this commandment merit 3 verses of explanation and commentary, more than any of the others?

Rest is the essence of the Sabbath. "On it," the passage in Exodus says, "you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant nor maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates," Everyone is to rest, including slaves and foreigners. Even beasts of burden are given a break. The reason given is that God rested on the seventh day of creation. Humanity is created in God's image and so we are to rest in imitation of him.

In Deuteronomy another reason is implied. We are reminded that God liberated Israel from slavery in Egypt. So the Sabbath is a sign that God's people are free. Slaves don't get days off--at least not until God made it law. Similarly, in the New Testament, Jesus says, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." The restorative effects of the Sabbath are not accidental. God knows we need time off. 

But today's 24/7 society has eliminated time off. It's not that we lack leisure time; in fact, we've trumped the 10 Commandments. We have combined the Jewish and Christian Sabbaths into the weekend. 2 whole days off! And are we more rested? No. We don't have to work every day but we don't have time to rest either. Indeed, our weekends can be even more stressful than workdays because we never get to sit still. We run errands; we work around the house; we chauffeur the kids to numerous team sports, scouting activities, birthday parties, and the like. And when we get home, the TV fills our evenings with sex, violence, celebrity scandals, insistent music, upsetting news, shows with bizarre ideas of "reality," sniggering sitcoms, and just plain noise. 

I think we have addicted our children to this constant bombardment of stimuli. We have made it portable. They soon learn not to leave home without their I-pod or Walkman and their Gameboy. And we let them because it keeps them quiet so we can concentrate on the other things crowding into our consciousness.

Once a year, we have a family vacation. Do we veg out then? No. We cram our 2 weeks with new forms of stress, like extended travel, crowded itineraries, jet lag, and junk food eaten while driving. We go to artificial worlds and pay to alternately walk our legs off and stand in line for hours in order to have machines fling us about for a few minutes. 

What does the word "cruise" mean to you? It used to mean smooth effortless movement. Have you noticed how today's cruise commercials consist entirely of breathless montages of people rock climbing, scuba diving, exercising, golfing, shopping, dancing in conga lines, and exploring Alaska? My favorite is the one in which we see the wife and kids aggressively enjoying themselves in the activities I've listed while periodically cutting to shots of Dad. He's sleeping in a deck chair, dozing by the pool, snoozing on the beach. He's probably the only one who will not need a vacation to recover from his vacation.

Scripture reminds us that even God took a break to appreciate what he'd done creatively. The Sabbath is to be a quiet time, a time to escape the routines and pressures of the world and contemplate God and his goodness. There is this image in Genesis that I love. We are told that God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day. That is what we were created for: to walk with God in the cool of the day, parent and child, savoring creation and each other's company. As Rabbi Burton Visotsky says, "The Sabbath is where you recapture Eden."

So how do we go about recapturing the Sabbath? First, we need to set aside time. We need to make an appointment to be with God. We need to make that time sacred--no interruptions, no distractions. Just you and God.

The main thing about the place you choose is that it needs to be private. Jesus talks of going into a chamber or storage room and closing the door. When Jesus was traveling, he would go off by himself to some place that was natural and isolated, often early in the morning.

The atmosphere should be quiet. There should be no radio in the background, no voices, nothing intriguing. Remember that when Elijah was in the wilderness, he did not hear God in the wind, or the earthquake, or in the fire, but in the silence.

Of course, it might be easier to find an quiet exterior than a quiet interior. So we need to learn to quiet our prattling inner voice. Here is a prayer that I have found to calm down my restless brain:

"You, Lord, are in this place.
Your presence fills it.
Your presence is peace.

"You, Lord, are in my heart.
Your presence fills it.
Your presence is peace.

"You, Lord, are in my mind.
Your presence fills it.
Your presence is peace.

"You, Lord, are in my life.
Your presence fills it.
Your presence is peace.

Help me, O Lord, to know 
that I dwell in you
and you dwell in me
this day and forever more. Amen."

This is also a great prayer to utter in times of chaos.

Nature abhors a vacuum and it is very hard to make your mind blank and not have errant thoughts creep in. So it helps to have something on which to focus. Bring your prayer book with you and just concentrate on a prayer or a psalm. Recite it over and over. Or zero in on a phrase or a word. You can use the Bible the same way. Read a short passage, or a single verse; turn it over on your mind; turn it into a prayer. Take the lectionary insert from your bulletin, fold it up and carry it in your pocket or purse. Then pull it out when you are having your quiet time and contemplate one of the readings.

This is not meant as a replacement for coming together to worship. There are certain aspects of communion with God that can only be experienced by coming together with others to sing and to pray and to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. Only within the corporate body of Christ can we find the compassion, the encouragement, the bearing of burdens and sharing of joys possible in communion with those of like Spirit. Remember that Jesus' favorite metaphor for the kingdom of God was a party. We need the balance of time together in God and time alone with God.

The Sabbath is something you can take with you anywhere you go. Nor does it have to be a once-a-week thing. When you are at work, find a place you can go on your break or your lunch hour. When you travel, see if there's a chapel or garden where you're staying. Is there a balcony to your hotel room or an observation point? Or perhaps you can find a place on the shore, or a path through the woods.

Some people get up early to have their quiet time before the house stirs. Those of us who are not morning persons may want to have it at evening, perhaps just before bed, giving our souls some rest just before our bodies do. Do not do it in bed or you may awake at 2 am with your prayer book on your chest and your glasses still on your face.

Just don't leave it to chance. Make it a priority. Make it regular. It will become an oasis in the noise and chaos of your life, an island in the flood of events that threaten to sweep you away. You will find refreshment for your soul, peace for your mind, balm for your heart and renewal and energy so that you do not grow weary of doing what is right.