Where is this week going? I ended up taking my Sabbath on Sunday (trying to put the Bible into action) which has thrown my week into a chaos, ironically. Let me explain; The last two weeks I have been writing my blog on Sunday afternoon, but since I decided to take my Sabbath on Sunday I turned off my phone and electronics that I am glued too for 95% of the week. This meant that I could not get online to type up a response to the sermon. I told myself I would do it Monday, but work was crazy and I had an emergency date night, so I pushed the write up till Tuesday. Tuesday got crazier at work, and then I was privileged enough to go to dinner with Theresa’s family which delayed the blog even further into Wednesday. Now we are halfway through our week and still no blog… so before another day goes by here is my 15 minute run down.
As I stated up above I took my Sabbath on Sunday. It was harder than expected. I decided to turn off all electronics (phone, computer, TV, etc). This threw my day into a spin because I had planned to watch a soccer game in the morning with some friends, and then possibly get a group of my young life guys together to watch a movie in the evening. Whelp, without my phone these plans went out the window. I thought about driving over to Curtis’ house, but then I realized that driving was something that I do every day….so I decided that if I was going to drive it had to be for an emergency. I resorted to breaking out my bike, but the tire had a hole in it. My last resort was walking…but it was 100 degrees so I decided I would read and pray (it’s amazing how wide open your day becomes when you strip the daily routine, work, and chores out of the mix-in addition I am no tree hugger by any means but if everyone could cut out one day of driving we could make a statement to the oil companies and help out the enviroment).
After some reading I kept asking myself…well what can I do on Sabbath. I have been so trained to go, go, go that when I have to slow down I feel like I still need to be doing something…or I am wasting time. Therefore, I wanted rules for what I could and couldn’t do (in order to maximize my day) As humans we always want parameters, and I found it ironic that Sabbath what was built into the fabric of creation for freedom, enjoyment, rest, and worship and I (like the Jews) was ready to turn my first Sabbath into a legalistic day of restraints(possibly missing the point of Sabbath?).
So I sat on the couch asking myself how can I make the Sabbath not about me. I remembered something I read a couple weeks ago. It has to do with us (God’s people) practicing for the arrival of the kingdom (basically practicing for what we are going to be doing for eternity). The idea is that when God comes back He will restore creation to the way He intended it to be, we will return to our intended purpose which involves the practice of Sabbath. When we look at Sabbath with an eschatological purpose, we are doing a couple things. One, we are agents of God’s Kingdom showing the world (through action) what the natural grain of the universe looks like. In essence, Sabbath is a form of ministry (as displayed by Chic Filet, BYU, etc) as we live our beliefs through action. Secondly, there is a reminder that there is more to come. This practice is preparing us for the day when Christ returns when we sit around rest and enjoy God. Until then we wait and hope in anticipation. Lastly, we are reminded that we were made for a purpose, a perpetual state of becoming fully human the way we were intended to be. A reminder that we have not yet arrived, that we still very much need Christ. In order to do this we displace our own wants and desires. If anything, it is another practice of denial, like fasting, lent, ect, where we learn to control our desires…showing that they will not control us.
I am getting a little off track, but my point is that instead of looking at Sabbath as something we have to do, or making rules about what we can and cannot do (nice question about sex…whoever texted Curtis) we can see it in a positive light. The example last week of “having” to go to church is all about perspective. We have been formed by the world and we need a renewing of our minds so to speak as we change our perspective and outlook on the world (well I need to at least).
I am hoping some more people share about how Sabbath kicked their butt…or what they did for Sabbath. Sorry this is so rushed and all over the place didn’t want to wait any longer.
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2 comments:
Bahaha!
I loved the process you went through that brought you from wanting to come over to simply sitting on your couch. God probably wanted you to take a break from me... I can hardly handle me 7 days a week.
It's interesting that you talked about the hard work that Sabbath was...just like exercising for the first time in months.
Are you able to look back on Sunday as a blessing yet?
And what blessings from God were you able to recognize and receive as a result of stopping for the day?
I don' know how Jane handles you 7 days a week.
In light of our Man Cave time on Wed. night it is interesting how tough Sabbath, exercising, or inserting new habits can be...I still think it starts with desire or motivation.
Sunday was a blessing. I needed rest and relaxation. It was the best becuase for the most part my kids were not there so I had peace. It really helped prepare me for the week.
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