A Year of Sabbaths (Week 31): March Madness

Koch Arena

Then Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou has spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."

And the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say." (Exodus 4:10-12)

We worked hard on Saturday. It was a day of cleaning up the yard and grinding up some brush. We planted peas in the garden and bought some paint for the basement. Though my sermon for Sunday was written, I also took some time to develop my delivery. (My wife is the gifted speaker in our family!)

So, I was glad when dinner rolled around and we shifted into Sabbath mode.  Our family began our thirty-first Sabbath of the year playing PacMan and Mappy on a classic video-game player. It was great!  We tumbled into bed late and looked forward to worship on Sunday.

It might be just deliberate self-delusion, but preaching on Sunday feels more like play than work. I know that I am not a gifted speaker. I just can't do it.  The words don't come. "I am slow of speech and slow of tongue", but it is in that speaking moment that I most feel the strength and power of God. When I preach, it is an awesome moment...at least for me!

After church, we came home and my wife and I helped our two littlest boys clean the big mess of their room.  We had helped them before, but they just  weren't getting it. Ususally such didactic sessions end in frustration and tears. However, this time, it was different. I didn't lose my patience and the kids became engaged. We parted ways with piles of trash, broken toys, worn-out toys, and rocks.  The little boys actually began to rejoice when they saw the floor again!  Maybe it was deliberate self-delusion, but it seemed like in that moment I felt the strength and power of God.

Furthermore, we finished our Sabbath work in time to drive over to some friends and watch the big ball game.  At the end of the day, the sermon was preached, the boys' room was cleaned, and our team advanced to the Sweet 16!  It was a good day.

I'm pretty sure that the circumstances would have been different thirty weeks ago. Thirty weeks ago, I would have been stressed about my sermon, the boys' room would have aroused agitation, and we wouldn't have bothered to drive across town to watch the game.

It may be deliberate self-delusion, but I like to think that the intentional practice of Sabbath is making a difference. By intentionally letting go of the cares of the world, we are beginning to experience the care of God. As God holds us close, we are conformed, just a little bit more, into his image.

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.