Sabbath Rest

“Like a path through the forest, 

Sabbath creates a marker for ourselves so,

if we are lost, we can find our way back to our center." 

~Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives

Hello friends!   I'll be taking a long summer break from writing in order to experience a family Vacation and Sabbath Rest along the way.  I'll be back on July 29 with a post on the sermon I'll be preaching at Ashford UMC.  It will be the first of a 2-part "series" which will emerge from the lectionary texts: John 6:1-21 and John 6:24-35.   Here is a bit of synchronicity (a meaning-full coincidence) ... Out of the entire 3 year lectionary cycle, considering I preach maybe 4-6 times a year, the text for the 1st week contains MOSAIC's signature scripture verse.   What a gift!

Jesus said to the discples, 

"Gather up the fragments left over, 

so that nothing may be lost." 

John 6:12b

my sense is that we should always be about gathering up 

the fragments of people's lives, including our own, 

so that no "one" may be lost!  ~c

The concept of Sabbath emerges from the creation story found in Genesis 2:2b-3.  

On the seventh day God rested ... 

God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, 

because on it God rested from all the work of creation.

Sabbath is so important to the lives of the faithful that it became one of the ten commandments found in Exodus 20:8.

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."

Jesus observed the Sabbath ... 

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.

Luke 4:16

But his idea keeping the Sabbath "holy" was different than those of the Pharisees, who were "religious" teachers ...  

Step 1: Lectio … reading

Read 

Mark 2:23-28 silently 

to yourself twice in a slow and reverent manner.

Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.

Silently focus on that word or phrase.

Repeat it several times and just sit with what you are hearing with your heart.

One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat.  But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”  Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?  He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”  Then Jesus said to them, 

“The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, 

and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 

So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

Step 2: Meditatio … receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What images emerge in your imagination?
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you through this word
Listen for God’s reply as you move through your day


Step 3: Oratio … responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires


Step 4: Contempatio … resting
Allow yourself to rest in the silence.
Allow your mind to settle into the silence.
When you feel the time to move on ...

Light 2 candles ... one to remember the Sabbath, one to keep the Sabbath holy

Chapel at The Jesuit Spirituality Center in Grand Coteau, LA

Recite this Shabbat (the Hebrew word for Sabbath) blessing 

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam

Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe

asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu

Who has sanctified us with the commandments and commanded us

l'had'lik neir shel Shabbat. (Amein)

to light the lights of Shabbat. (Amen)

Dear Friends, in this time of Sabbath ... May the Light of Christ Shine on your Path!