A Year of Sabbaths (Week 27): Accidental Sabbath

(Photo from www.freeimages.com #1063592)

"Be still, and know that I am God; 

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10)

On Sunday afternoon, were were planning on coming home after church and cleaning out the desk drawer in the Dream Room (it's really our office but it has maps on the walls and a globe on the floor and lots of books to inspire dreams of far away places and foster lofty thoughts).  The Dream Room is in  the back of the house...far enough away for us to hide but also far enough away for us to hide stuff. There is only one drawer in the Dream Room. And it was an overflowing mess.

However, on Sunday afternoon, our best laid plans were scrapped. We had been extemporaneously invited to watch the basketball game at noon with some friends. It wasn't long before we were entirely off topic. The Dream Room drawer remained in mayhem.  In fact, we never even made it home. We drove from the church, picked up some pizza, and drove directly across town in order to catch tip-off.  Shortly after arrival, we found out that the game was at three. But we sat and stayed. We ate, we visited, and we rested.

It was an accidental Sabbath.

So I thought.  But now, in reflection, I am beginning to wonder. It seems as if God knew exactly what was happening.  In fact, it seems God's people are always right where God wants them to be even if it is three hours early; it only seems accidental.

After all, Moses was herding sheep when he saw the burning bush. Elijah was running for his life when he heard the still small voice. Saul was rounding up some Damascus Christians when he was blinded by the Lord.  Peter was fishing when Jesus called to him from the shore.

Maybe this God who created koalas, ear lobes, and the blobfish enjoys the humor in it. When we are least expecting it, and when we feel like we are not getting anything done, that is when God reveals His omnipresence. Scripture says, "Be still and know".  Author and theologian Abraham Heschel says:

"The law of the Sabbath tries to direct the body and the mind to the dimension of the holy.

It tries to teach us that man stands not only in relation to nature

but in a relation also to the creator of nature."

    

In other words, God sometimes will give us a burning bush, or scales on our eyes, or a still small voice, or an unplanned afternoon with friends to remind us of who and where God is.  He's right here, in relationship with us.  And we will experience it if we just stop...even "accidentally."

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

Year of Sabbaths (Week 26): Sky Hooks and Swan Dives

(Photo from www.freeimages.com #683215)

Mostly, I have thought of Sabbath as a personal discipline.  It has been, for me, something I do on my own, like praying or going to church or eating less chocolate.  I know that this something is good for me even if it isn't always enjoyable.  Joy hasn't been the point.

But, maybe I've been wrong.

Maybe Sabbath was never intended to be a solo journey.  And maybe joy is specifically the point.  Maybe Sabbath is less like a solo discipline and more like a road trip or even a great-big block party:

       Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your heard and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. But if, when the Lord your God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set his name is too far away from you, then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose; spend the money for whatever you wish—oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together.” (Deuteronomy 14:22-26)

It seems to me that the command here is to get to where God is and then celebrate with everyone else who has made the trip. Joy is specifically the point.  And if you can't make it to where God dwells, then invite everyone over and celebrate the blessings of God where you are. Only, be careful to avoid the BBQ if you are a vegan. Be wary of the punch bowl if you are a teetotaler. Forget about decency and orderliness.  The only command is to rejoice and to rejoice together.

Last Saturday, our family took a road trip.  Our oldest son was playing in a basketball tournament out of town. As luck would have it, there was a swimming pool in the same facility.  Our two little ones spent a lot of time perfecting their swan dives and belly flops between games.  My wife packed a gourmet picnic lunch.  We cheered wildly and almost won the championship. We finished the day at a Mexican restaurant eating salsa and chips and celebrating sky hooks and swan dives. We even had a little chocolate for dessert. It was a beautiful Sabbath, a lovely Valentine's day, and a great party!

I like Sabbath this way better: together and not alone.  In fact, I like the idea of a party better than worship and wonder would happen if we thought of church in the same way...as celebration..."you and your household rejoicing together."  I don't know.  It might be a disaster.  Someone may sing too loud, eat too much chocolate, or start to dance.  But, maybe in the midst of it all, we would laugh a little and give God some room to move.  Who knows what might happen if church were more of a party and joy was the point.

Church Stopping.  Less doing. More being.

Year of Sabbaths (Week 25): Upside Down World

 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me..." 

(Jesus, as remembered in John 10:27)

After church on Sunday, we decided to grab a burrito at a local place that makes burritos the size of footballs. I miss football, so a burrito sounded awesome.  As we ate, I noticed that several folks were trickling into the burrito place from the church across the street. Some were even wearing bright yellow shirts with the church logo on them. "Well, that's cool!" I thought. "I'll have to check that out later."

After lunch, we went home and changed into play clothes. The two little boys busted out some hops in the bouncy house and our oldest practiced his last-second game-winners from half-court. Some friends were in town from out-of-town and we had a great visit ranging from home-grown eggs to home-made barley soda and all points in-between.  In the end, I traded some eggs in good-faith for some future soda.  No money traded hands, so I do not think any Sabbath regulations were crossed. In the evening, my wife and I watched an obscure movie that wasn't terrible. 

But I kept thinking about those cool ecclesiastical accouterments.  

Alas! The day was over so I committed to a peaceful Sabbath rest.  However, in the morning, I woke up with those trendy trousseaux still tripping through my mind. Consequently, I googled the church across from the burrito factory and I came across some things that gurgled and churned and caused me some discomfort.  This is what I read:

1. We want to turn the world upside down.

2. We will be a transforming force in the community.

3. We can be effective in mission when we focus our resources on a specific spot (in the world).

Am I over-reacting? Magnifying the minute?  Perhaps.  But it sounds an awful lot like church by our own strength.  Maybe it is not.  But I envision a different kind of church with a different kind of website reading:

1. We believe that Jesus has already turned the wold upside down. Our task is to encourage this upside-down community in living with this new perspective.

2. We believe that Jesus is already transforming the community. We need to celebrate with those that have been transformed.

3. Effective mission is not focused on a specific spot, but a way of life so radically different that people want to be a part of it. 

It's easy to be critical. Especially when all I know about a church is a cool, yellow shirt and a couple of words on a web-site. However, I believe that the personal practice of Sabbath helps us to discern the true voice of God...one that does not need us to turn the world upside down, but invites us, instead, on a pulse-pounding ride that has the potential to make us a little-bit gurgly in the stomach, and cause us some discomfort.

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

Photo from www.freeimages.com #167304

A Year of Sabbaths (Week 24): Gathering Wood

(1964 Ford Pickup...like my dad's)

"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, 

in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, 

in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."

(1 John 5:20)

We somehow squeezed in to my dad's 1964 Ford pickup-my dad, mom, and two little sisters, our capricious fox terrier, Jiggs, and  a picnic lunch. My dad would put his chainsaw and axe in the back and we would bounce out to the woods looking for just the right tree.  Once we found it, my dad was an expert at cutting it down while we all yelled, "Timber!" We would then take a break for lunch, sitting on the tailgate. The woods seemed especially quiet after the roar of the chainsaw and my mother's sandwiches tasted even better in the clean air scented with the aroma of cut wood. 

Soon, it was back  to work.  My dad cut the tree and split the bigger logs into pieces that even my sisters could carry to the truck. My job was to stack the wood in the back of the pickup. And I stacked that wood tight.  "Great job, Geoff," my dad would say, "That is a good looking stack and I don't think we'll lose any on the way home." I stood a little taller and worked a little faster knowing that there was a candy bar and an ice-cold pop waiting for me in the cooler. Life was good. 

We are almost halfway through this year-long Sabbath experiment, and our practice of Sabbath has become a bit like those old outings to the woods.  From our spot on the tailgate of our lives, my wife and I take a break from the roar that is raising boys.  They are loud.  The oldest says he wants to go hunting. The middle one has "cleaned out his closet." The youngest is playing his new song on the piano. There's work lying all around us, waiting. But we need nourishment; a reminder that the Son of God has come.  So we stop. We watch football and read books and worship in Him who is true and our souls are filled up as we breathe air scented with the aroma of growing feet and eternal life.   

I know that soon it will be back to work; trimming off the rough spots, shaping three little boys into three little men that will grow up to take their place in the world.  In the midst of it all, we are reminded that sometime, in the near future, we should come to the woods without any children.  But not today. Today we come back to a new week of work, but refreshed with a new perspective. We stack them high and tight knowing that they will be bounced around a little bit. There are some rough patches along the way, but we have also received great encouragement on the back of the pickup, "Great job, guys!  That is a good looking stack of boys and I don't think we'll lose any on the way home."  

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.