Living and Resting

Read anything from Annie Dillard and see that she writes beautifully about the ways we spend our lives. What better time than Lent to take the time to reflect on our days - the days we have spent, the day we live now, the days we may or may not have to come... Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we are one and we are many; alone and together all at once. We live in the paradox of the cross. How are we seeing Christ in our midst? How are we both living and resting in the love of God?



To give credit to this art, and if you would like to read more from Annie Dillard who is quoted there, please visit Brainpickings.org.

Silent Space

One of the hardest things for me to wrap words around is silence. How can I possibly write about this? Yet, silence is integral to sabbath. While we may not be able to give an entire to day sabbath rest, we can choose perspective, as most of this blog has been about. We can also choose silence. We can turn off the noise of opinions and words, meaningless sounds that we must filter through every day.

In a world of too many words, silence affects people who are no longer affected by sound. Plenty of us who are defended against sound have no defense against silence. Some of us love it and some of us flee it. That is because silence can mean anything. 

- Barbara Brown Taylor, When God is Silent

In the space of silence we face...anything. Funny that it is in the space of silence, in nothingness, we practice what it really means to listen. Maybe it is in silence that we can finally hear the word of God for which we've been searching.

People talk about God as being that one thing that fills the void in your heart, that one thing missing in your life. But what if God is that void? What if, instead of filling a void, God creates space. It's not just more time we need, it's space in an overcrowded life. What if God is the quiet emptiness we actually need? What if, instead of fearing the space and silence, we faced it and let ourselves flounder there for a bit, acknowledging the scariness of it all, the unknown of it all? What, in that formless void of space, will God create within us?

Take some time to muse on this today. In what ways do you need internal and external silence? In what ways do you need to practice listening? 

Where do you need space? Where is there already a void? (A relationship? A missed opportunity? A disappointment or unfulfilled desire? A frustration, confusion, or overwhelming emotion?...) How is God be calling you to enter that space? What message/story/voice is it calling you to listen to?

WANT MORE?

Does absolute quiet exist? Is there a place we could go to seek it out? The quest for silence spaces has inspired George Foy. Read about what he's learned here.

It's easy for those of us who hear to assume everyone wants to, including people born deaf. Check out this article about why some deaf people do and don't want hearing restored.

Curious about taking a vow of silence or silent retreat? Check out one woman's experience here.

Sabbath Mission - Day 40

I can't claim that anything I've written over the past 40 days is "new." There are countless books about the Sabbath, the necessity of rest, the ways the consumption of technology and media are affecting our brains, the troubles of an over-scheduled life, etc. etc. I don't wish to simply say more of the same thing. Instead, my hope for this experiment has had to do with building community engagement and involvement. If we are to revision and redefine sabbath for the 21st century, it is not merely a matter of Bible study and rest; though, that is where many of us may need to begin. Instead, it is the practice of both/and. As you may have noticed, each week of this process has had a theme or title that involved this practice. Week One wasn't just gratitude - it was grattitude AND letting go. In this same way, sabbath for the 21st century isn't just sabbath - it's Sabbath Mission.

Early on, as I contemplated our pressing need for sabbath, it also became clear to me that it wasn't just a matter of revisiting an old idea. It was a matter of complete renewal, even reformation. Sabbath is easily and often confused with liesure time, a break, or a holiday; rather than a perspective and rhythm by which we can shape our lives. On the other hand, mission without sabbath is often understood and spoken as action and works-based. It can be ego-driven without the balance of sabbath. It can become all about how we are bringing about the Kingdom of God. Mission needs sabbath as sabbath needs mission. Without the counterpoint of one, the other is lost. As we begin living this both/and, Sabbath Mission, we become more alive in our engagement with life itself. We live Christ-centered, rather than ego-driven.

In the community we've built through this experiment we have grown in our understanding of a sabbath life. We've been inspired to pass it on, talk about it, and try something new; expressing our new growth out in the world. These deepend relationships, this new expression, is the mission of God in motion. We have stumbled upon its definition on our own and go from here living in it. That's why we need sabbath and that's why we, as a people of faith, are also a people of mission.

Sabbath Mission will not look the same for everybody or the same every day. To be a people of Sabbath Mission does not mean we will spend every day perfectly in gratitude/letting go, care for creation/confession, worship/idolatry, peace/bitterness, and rest/distraction. Some days, all we will be up for or feel we have the time for is simply breathing. Other days, we will have the gift of space, more time to wander through the rituals and practices that make sabbath Sabbath Mission for us. As the heading of this blog wonders, the point isn't so much the amount of time we have, but how we honor it. What will happen when we dedicate our time to sabbath? There is not one answer to this. It is one of those questions that constantly leads to new questions and new conclusions, depending on the day.

The biblical poet suggested that there are 613 commandments: 365 (the number of days in the year) plus 248 (the number of bones in the body, according to the science of the day). In other words, we bring all the parts of who we are, "the bad and the good," into every moment, and every moment is a commanding moment. - Irwin Kula, Yearnings

Martin Luther teaches us that we are simulatneously saint and sinner. This isn't about what we do and don't do. Rather, we are named Saint because of who we are in relation to God, forgiven sinners. It is the grace of God that has transformed this relationship into something wholly new. It is in this grace that we can face the truth of who we are both saint and sinner.

Consider what this means in our relationship to time. We are simultaneously saint and sinner, bringing both the good and bad with us into every moment. Every "commanding moment" is an opportunity to practice Sabbath Mission, an opportunity to live out our new relationship with God, freed by the radical grace of forgiveness. In the same way that our relationship with God has been transformed by grace, so has our relationship with time been claimed and sanctified (made holy). Some days, Sabbath Mission will come easy to us. Other days it will be struggle. But the unchanging truth of Sabbath Mission is the transformative power of God's grace, alive. Whether we find ourselves on a good day or bad, as we are faced by each commanding moment, we can rest in God's word, "my grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we finally rest in this Word, we live Sabbath Mission.

You've forced me to talk this way, and I do it against my better judgment. But now that we're at it, I may as well bring up the matter of visions and revelations that God gave me. For instance, I know a man who, fourteen years ago, was seized by Christ and swept in ecstasy to the heights of heaven. I really don't know if this took place in the body or out of it; only God knows. I also know that this man was hijacked into paradise - again, whether in or out of the body, I don't know; God knows. There he heard the unspeakable spoken, but was forbidden to tell what he heard.This is the man I want to talk about. But about myself, I'm not saying another word apart from the humiliations. If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I'd still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I'll spare you. I don't want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you'd encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk. Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size - abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. 

- 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (The Message)

In what ways has the 40 Day Sabbath Experiment helped you face your weaknesses?

In what ways has the 40 Day Sabbath Experiment helped you recognize God's strength despite your weakness? How has it made you stronger?

How will you continue to explore Sabbath Mission in your life? 

Sabbath Mission - Day 38

Jesus shows us what it looks like to live Sabbath Mission. Through his example, we learn that sabbath is not just a day; rather, a behavior, a perspective, and a rhythm of life. The four gospels provide us with a vision of Christ’s mission for the world. As Jesus lived out his own sabbath rhythms, bumping up against the order of Jewish law, he showed us what sabbath keeping can do for the world. He showed us where human lawfulness ends and God’s call for all creation begins. In the Gospel of John, we hear Jesus specifically handing this call over to his disciples in two places, just before he is handed over to be imprisoned and ultimately crucified; “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:17-18); and, when he meets his disciples again, in resurrection, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The call to live out this Sabbath Mission echoes beyond our understanding of time and space.

When we choose sabbath for our lives, we are making a point to live intentionally, not reactionary. We live lives of gratitude, care, worship, peace, and rest. We face those things we need to let go of and confess. Those things we idolize, or embitter us, and distract us from Sabbath Mission. We live watchful lives, paying attention to those moments where God's kingdom breaks in.

Sabbath is not only a gift; it is also the practice of sanctifying time. When we live in sanctified time, we live in holy time. In holy time, we are reoriented to the bearer of all time, and are sent out to live our lives pulsing in rhythm, in time, with God. Living to the beat of this rhythm of God is how we live God’s mission in the world. When we lose track of God’s time, we lose track of our mission in the world.

The church is mission. In a renewed commitment to sabbath practices and sabbath rhythms the Church is reborn with a deeper understanding of the Sabbath for daily life. In these moments of rebirth, the church can fully embody Christ in the world.

How has your personal commitment to the Sabbath Experiment reoriented your life? In what ways do you feel you have been reborn? 

When considering the Church in the world, what are some of the ways we, as a body, might benefit by a re-commitment to Sabbath Mission? What are some practical things we can do as a body to live out our Sabbath Mission better than we do now?

A Season of Holy Days

If all goes well, I will finally complete my Masters Degree this January. After a long road, I will be able to finish the final classes I need this semester. With this process comes the inevitable thesis project. The only requirement for this project was that it somehow connects with youth, culture, or mission.

While pondering the many ideas and issues that I could choose from, I couldn’t shake the one thing I’ve heard over and over again. I’ve heard this from parents, teenagers, retirees, and even kids. The message is clear and I’m sure you’ve heard or said something like this at least once in the past month.