This tear’s Horizon Bible Study for Presbyterian Women is challenging! “Celebrating Sabbath” is a topic few of us have explored, and this year’s study calls us to do just that, by opening our hearts and our minds to God and to each other.
While we may have “studied” Sabbath, few of us have embraced it as a way of marking time in our lives. In the Old Testament we learned of strict sabbath laws, rules and regulations that sounded a strong “NO” to our understanding of sabbath. In the New Testament, while Jesus honors sabbath, he expands understanding and expectation of sabbath into something more – a resounding “YES”!
Carol Bechtel, who created this study, teaches “Sabbath is not a burden, it is a blessing – a celebration that has the potential to reform and redirect all our ways of living.” She quotes Henri Nouwen’s words: “You don’t think your way into a new kind of living, but you live your way into a new kind of thinking.” We are being called to live our way into a new way of thinking about Sabbath. – a gift God has been waiting to give us for a long time. Accepting God’s gift of sabbath is where to start!
One of sabbath’s richest gifts if peace – “shalom.” Shalom/peace also means healing, health and wholeness. Few of us know how to stop the speeding train of our lives; we need healing from burnout and exhaustion; from feeling swamped and overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to keep up with life’s demands. Bechtel reminds us that if we aren’t willing to put down all we are holding in our hands, we won’t be able to receive what God would give to us. The benefits of sabbath reach beyond self-care to benefit all of human life. We are challenged to create a “cathedral in time”, a space for sabbath in our busy lives.
We’re encouraged to take “baby steps” : a walk in the woods, lighting a candle and listening to music, sitting on a park bench – exploring ways of accepting God’s gift of sabbath. “What might it look like for you to accept God’s invitation to sabbath rest and delight?”
Elizabeth
Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.“ After reading all the times for this and that, I always skip down to verse 11: “….and God has made everything beautiful in its time.” Another translation reads, “…and God has made everything suitable for its time.” I think I like beautiful best, but suitable is helpful as well! As the seasons of the year change, I’m drawn to the changes in the seasons of my heart, as well.
In her book Seasons of the Heart, Catholic sister Macrina Wiederkehr writes: “The seasons of my heart change like the seasons of the fields. There are seasons of wonder and hope, seasons of suffering and love, seasons of healing. There are seasons of dying and rising, seasons of faith … Autumn trees teach us about letting go.”
“Slowly
she celebrated the sacrament of letting go.
First she surrendered her green,
then the orange, yellow, and red.
Finally she let go of her brown,
shedding her last leaf.
She stood empty and silent.
Leaning against the winter sky,
she began her vigil of trust …
Shedding her last leaf,
she watched its journey to the ground.
She stood in silence
wearing the color of emptiness
her branches wondering:
How do you give shade with so much gone? …
and then, the sacrament of waiting began.
The sunrise and sunset watched with tenderness,
clothing her with silhouettes,
they kept her hope alive
They helped her understand that
her vulnerability
her dependence and need
her emptiness
her readiness to receive
were giving her a new kind of beauty.
Every morning and every evening
they stood in silence
and celebrated together
the sacrament of waiting!”
As the seasons change, let us reflect on the seasons of our heart. May we let go of what we need to let go of and begin that vigil of trust that leads to waiting on the Lord. “They that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:32)
Elizabeth
A special moment in our worship service yesterday marked the retirement of one of our members, after twenty-five years of military service. In her career she achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel – quite an honor! She was celebrated at Ft. Bragg on Friday, and on this day, her church family surrounded her with love and this prayer was offered:
Gracious God, we come to you giving thanks for our dear friend’s
many years of faithful service to this nation, and for the lasting
contributions she has made through sharing her experience and
wisdom with those who will follow her.
We pray your continued blessing on her in this next chapter
of her life. Be with her as she searches for new paths and
explores new horizons. May she be blessed with friends and
family to share the journey ahead with her. Keep her strong in
body, mind and spirit. Open new doors of service that will bring
her joy and will make a lasting difference in our world.
We give thanks that she is a part of our church family, and ask
that you will use us to bless and to encourage one another as we
live together in this corner of your kingdom. For all that has been
and for all that is yet to be, we give you thanks. Amen.
Later in the day I recalled a prayer for retirement found in the book, To Bless the Spaces Between Us. This has much to say to her and to all who are retiring as well.
For Retirement
This is where your life has arrived,
after all the years of effort and toil;
Look back with graciousness and thanks
on all your great and quiet achievements.
You stand on the shore of new invitation
to open your life to what is left undone;
Let your heart enjoy a different rhythm,
when drawn to the wonder of other horizons.
Have the courage for a new approach to time;
allow it to slow until you find freedom
To draw alongside the mystery you hold,
and befriend your own beauty of soul.
Now is the time to enjoy your heart’s desire,
To live the dreams you’ve waited for,
To awaken the depths beyond your work,
And enter into your infinite source.
God bless and keep you always, dear friend.
Giving thanks for those streams of mercy, carrying us through this life to the life to come.
Elizabeth