There is a kind of hurry that is a form of violence exercised upon time that is detrimental to our health, to our families, to our communities and to our relationship with God. Living under pressure is part of life and we must be careful not to rationalize. God didn’t make mistakes in creating time and he made enough of it. When we cannot find enough time and, as the psalmist says, find ourselves getting up earlier and going to bed later because we have too much to do, we can see this as a sign to make some changes in our lives.

 

One of the ten commandments is "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day."  Today, there is a lot of confusion about what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy. For the most part, this commandment is simply ignored. As Wayne Muller points out, “we have turned a commandment into a lifestyle suggestion.  More and more, it’s business as usual on Sundays; many of us are obliged to work on that day, church attendance is declining steadily, and we are living increasingly pressured lives.”

 

What does it mean to keep holy the Sabbath day?  It means more things than we imagine.  It is one of the key practices of our Christian faith, and yet, it is ignored. On my Sabbath day five years ago, I had scheduled three pre-marital appointments with couples in New Orleans, but I never made it. Due to fatigue and exhaustion, I closed my eyes momentarily and awakened to the biggest lesson I learned in my whole life.

 

For the next seven months, I had many opportunities to cry out to God and learn that the Sabbath day is an important part of my life. Unless we pull back from our normal lives regularly to rest, we will lose perspective on what is ultimately important and become compulsive and driven people.  It’s no accident that as Sabbath observance is slipping today, we find ourselves feeling ever more trapped and more pressured, always behind, never able to rest deeply and less able to delight in the deep joys of life.

 

Last summer, this loving congregation gave me a precious gift: a sabbatical.  A sabbatical is not a vacation nor is it time away as much as it is an opportunity to become all that God has called me to be. I ceased to work and intentionally chose to give good energy and focus to my family. This was carefully planned so that Phyllis, Andrew and Patrick received this investment. I am forever grateful to this congregation for investing in our family during my sabbatical.

Sabbath is a gift we are to share with others. God gave us the Sabbath. Jesus taught us that we weren’t made for the Sabbath but that the Sabbath was made for us. In the coming months, I plan to share with you what the Lord is teaching me on how to keep the Sabbath holy. I am still learning every day what it means to keep holy the Sabbath day. This is a lifelong journey for me and I am deeply grateful to be one of your pastors who is being led by the Holy Spirit to learn what it means to rest and take the Sabbath seriously.