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All I ever really needed to know about Sabbath Keeping I learned in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a neighborly day in this beauty wood. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?
He was a treasured guest in our childhood homes. First he went to the closet, where he exchanged his coat and shoes for a more comfortable sweater (knitted by his mother) and sneakers. Then he sang to us in a way that made us want to sing along. We boarded the Trolley and went on a journey, awakening our imagination to the land of make believe. We were treated to story time and games like show and tell. He encouraged us to get in touch with our childhood feelings and gave us the freedom to play. All this happened under the carefree clock named Daniel, who had no hands. Not that we cared much about time then; it could be whatever time we wanted it to be. It is an overworked genre of literature, but a fitting book cries out to be written, All I Really Needed to Know about Sabbath Keeping, I learned in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
Sabbath invites us into a different kind of space. . . . . a different dimension of time. . . . . . a place of seeing God. . . . . . an imaginative spirit of of "make-believe." Done consistently, over a period of time, Sabbath keeping will make us believe in God in a much deeper way. Sabbath, in this vein, is a place of faith-making.
Eugene Peterson, in an article entitled Confessions of a Former Sabbath Breaker, defines good Sabbath keeping as a creative combination of praying and playing. He invites us to find a place (a sanctuary) and craft a routine (a ritual). Those involved in church leadership have the additional need of finding a time beyond the working Sunday. Whatever the case, be it Monday or Saturday, it should be kept as consistently as possible. If Sabbath is to do its gracious work in us it must become a life rhythm.
Praying. Find a place for worship and prayer, a sanctuary. From a sacred space in your home to a quiet walk through the park, locate some holy ground and “take off your shoes.” (i.e. prepare to meet God.) Take off your watch. (Eternity is timeless) Enter in with praise and thanksgiving. Sing, but resist the temptation to write songs. Chant the Psalms. (Don’t worry about how to do it—make it up!) Take a prayer like our Lord’s Prayer and pray it slowly and deliberately, as a guide. Spend time reflecting on your calling and the way it is unfolding. Get in touch with the creation and remember the works of God in your life. Thank God for your gifts and reconsecrate them to Him. Break free from the idolatry of worshipping worship. Always be reminded: worship is a revolutionary reorientation around the radical idea of a God-centered existence.
Playing. Put the dreaded “to-do” list aside and go have some fun. Read some good fiction. Go to a movie, but try to avoid television. Take a long drive in the country. Visit a park and swing and slide. Learn to play games like cards or chess that stimulate thought and give attention deficit addictions like GameCube a rest. Make a call or write a letter to an old friend. Be inventive; just resist the temptation to work.
Can you hear the Lord of the Sabbath singing? It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. . . . would you be mine. . . could you be mine? That’s what it’s all about.
Labels: sabbath
posted by John David Walt | at 4/27/2007 06:43:00 AM | 3 comments
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Sabbath Keeping Encouragement
In the early 1980’s, when the cold war was raging hot, the Soviet Empire seemed a formidable place. Red Square, with all its pompous splendor, was the symbolic center of the Russian Nuclear SuperPower. It was an impeccable fortress, or so we thought. On an ordinary day, a sixteen year old German student named Matthias Rust, piloted a small single engine rental airplane from Denmark into Soviet airspace. Despite one of the most advanced anti-aircraft radar systems in the world, the German student “buzzed” the Kremlin and landed the aircraft in the center of Moscow’s Red Square.
On the outside, everything seemed to be in order. But on the inside, something entirely different was taking place. An internal collapse had been underway for who knows how long. Chernobyl was next, the most devastating nuclear reactor accident in world history. Soon the walls would come tumbling down and the rest, as they say, is history.
Sadly, Red Square and the collapse that ensued, is an apt metaphor for all too many ministry leaders and pastors in our day. On the outside, all seems to be in order. But on the inside, something entirely different is taking place. A high energy schedule and break-neck pace cloak the rising tide of burnout. The desire to do something great for God. . . . . to make the grade. . . . . to be successful in our mission disguise fame-hungry ambitions. Derailing moral breakdowns loom perilously behind a self assured sense of invincibility.
There is no shortage of data concerning the well being of pastors in ministry. Take this data from a recent survey, which was funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc., by Dean Hodge and Jacqueline Wenger:
How important was each of the following possible reasons why you left your position in local church ministry?
I felt drained by the demands on me = 58%
I felt lonely or isolated = 51%
I felt bored or constrained in the position = 43%
I was not supported by denominational officials = 43%
I found a better job outside of congregational work = 38%
I had marital or personal relationship problems = 27%
I love the way our late friend, Sam Eden, used to frame his most emphatic sentences: "Note well." Note well: people aren't leaving ministry because they haven't read enough books. As important as scholastic devotion may be, apart from the disciplines and dispositions of a Spirit filled heart, it will mean little to nothing in the long term sustenance of servanthood.
In the midst of the chaotic stress of our post-modern lives comes the ancient cry of God, Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor but the seventh is a Sabbath to the Lord. For centuries, Sabbath Keeping has provided the people of God with a sword of protection and shield of refuge from the subtle enemies of the soul.
Sabbath keeping forges deep channels of reflection navigating us beyond the shallows of our coffee-break prayer lives. Gordon McDonald, in his book Ordering Your Private World, says Sabbath keeping is a "fine tuning of my inner navigational instruments so that I can make my way through the world for another week." Sabbath, through the sheer will to keep showing up, has a way of restoring our radar almost effortlessly. It does so by bringing us back to true North, over and over and over again. . . . . week after week after week. . . . . . taking our focus off of "the next thing" and re-establishing our view of the horizon.
Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy = 24 hour day that begins at night once per week + Ritual entry and exit + (ceasing x resting x feasting x embracing).
photo: John Deere--The Early Years. Artist: Sandra Partridge
Labels: sabbath
posted by John David Walt | at 4/21/2007 06:31:00 AM | 3 comments
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Sabbath Keeping Essay
Yesterday I enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts on Sabbath Keeping with a group of Ministry Leaders from the Greater Lexington area. They all serve as mentors to our various students in fulfilling their ministry internship requirements in local churches and other ministries. I invited them to FARMStrong for further processing of the ideas. As some of you have noticed, I have started using labels which are a helpful way of collecting similar ideas posted over time. Just click on the label "sabbath" and it will pull all the posts together. I am now in the process of going back through the three years of FARMStrong and labeling things that make sense to label-- beginning with thoughts about Sabbath keeping.
Here's a piece i wrote on Sabbath Keeping published as a chapter in a book on personal Spiritual Formation for Ministry Leaders
Labels: sabbath
posted by John David Walt | at 4/19/2007 07:11:00 AM | 0 comments
Friday, April 13, 2007
sabbath keeping encouragement Here's a Sabbath idea to ponder as we move toward the turn of another week. Be encouraged to stay with it.
Technical civilization is man’s conquest of space. It is a triumph frequently achieved by sacrificing an essential ingredient of existence, namely, time In technical civilization, we expend time to gain space. To enhance our power in the world of space is our main objective. Yet to have more does not mean to be more. The power we attain in the world of space terminates abruptly at the borderline of time. But time is the heart of existence. . . . . Judaism is a religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time. . . . Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time. . . . The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals. . . . . One of the most distinguished words in the Bible is the word qadosh, holy; a word which more than any other is representative of the mystery and majesty of the divine. Now what was the first holy object in the history of the world? Was it a mountain? Was it an altar?
It is, indeed, a unique occasion at which the distinguished word qadosh is used for the first time: in the Book of Genesis at the end of the story of creation. How extremely significant is the fact that it is applied to time: ‘And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. There is no reference in the record of creation to any object in space that would be endowed with the quality of holiness.
Abraham Joshua Heschel The Sabbath.
That's the new baby gorilla at the Little Rock Zoo. The photo said "Sabbath" to me. ;-)Labels: sabbath
posted by John David Walt | at 4/13/2007 05:06:00 PM | 1 comments
Friday, March 09, 2007
Sabbath Swimming Marva Dawn writes in her book on Sabbath Keeping:
“Sabbath resting is a foretaste of eternal life. . . For that reason part of our Sabbath celebration is a prayer that we might someday come to the fulfillment of the Sabbath. . . . When we live for our Sabbaths, when they are the climax of our weeks, we know a healthy anticipation of the ultimate rest, the time when Jesus will come to take us home.”
I've been thinking a lot about Sabbath in the midst of Lent. Here's my latest poem. As I read the quote above it captures the idea I am getting at. I share the poetry with you as an encouragement.
SABBATH SWIMMING
sitting next to a
cool pond
on a hot day
imagining the refreshment
yielding immersion
feels like hope;
though it is not.
Now, to get into the pond
another thing entirely
experiencing the Water;
though you must get out
eventually,
you remember it forever.
and in the realer sense, you,
can never leave it again
and while you may dwell in a
desert
the water has become your reality
The meaning of hope
swims in Sabbath
The poem comes from my remembering of a story my Pepaw liked to tell about his childhood. He grew up in a time of legalistic Sabbath keeping. "We used to go down to the swimming hole on Sundays and watch the other kids swim. Mama wouldn't let us get in because it was the Lord's Day. One day the local doctor was down at the pond and saw me standing on the doc watching the rest of the kids having such a good time in the water. All of a sudden, he pushed me in. Then he said, 'Lee, you have fun swimming now while your clothes dry out.' posted by John David Walt | at 3/09/2007 08:44:00 PM | 3 comments
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Encouraging Sabbath We are working to encourage our Community Life team at the seminary to practice Sabbath. I have been trying to encourage this group for the past few weeks in intentional ways with short reflections. Here's the latest:
A few years back I bought a book of Wendell Berry's poetry called, "A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997." It turns out he takes a walk every Sabbath in the morning, usually through the woods, and during that walk he writes a poem. Don't you love that idea? I do. Something about poetry just fits Sabbath to me-- the way with poetry that words aren't laboriously working to describe things, rather they are effortlessly colliding to create things. Poetry releases words to play at creation. I often find myself sitting in church on Sunday mornings scratching out words and finding them chasing each other on my bulletin. Enough musing on that.
So here's some verse from one of Berry's Sabbath poems:
Why must the gate be narrow?
Because you cannot pass beyond it burdened.
To come in among these trees you must leave behind
the six days' world, all of it, all of its plans and hopes.
You must come without weapon or tool, alone,
expecting nothing, remembering nothing,
into the ease of sight, the brotherhood of eye and leaf.
Now here's some of our own Chad Brooks Sabbath poetry I found on his blog I like it too.
downward dance,
with you I descend
know me and shape me
Christ my friend
Labels: sabbath
posted by John David Walt | at 3/04/2007 09:34:00 PM | 3 comments
Friday, February 02, 2007
Sabbath Keeping scrap Early last December, I was part of a conference in Houston where Lauren Winner was one of the keynote speakers. She spoke on Sabbath keeping, a subject on which I have become keenly interested in the past 7 years. She opened her lecture by reading an excerpt from "Stranger in the Midst," Nan Fink's memoir recounting her conversion to Judaism. I later found the piece in Winner's book, Mudhouse Sabbath. It captured my attention.
"On Friday afternoon, at the very last minute, we'd rush home, stopping at the grocery to pick up supplies. Flying into the kitchen we'd cook ahead for the next twenty-four hours. Soup and salad, baked chicken, yams and applesauce for dinner, and vegetable cholent or lasagna for the next day's lunch. Sometimes I'd think how strange it was to be in wuch a frenzy to get ready for a day of rest.
Shabbat preparations had their own rhythm, and once the table was set and the house straightened, the pace began to slow. 'It's your turn first in the shower,' I'd call to Michael. 'Okay, but it's getting late,' he'd answer, concerned about starting Shabbat at sunset.
In the bathroom I'd linger at the mirror, examining myself, stroking the little lines on my face, taking as much time as I could to settle into a mood of quietness. When I joined Michael and his son for the lighting of the candles, the whole house seemed transformed. Papers and books were neatly piled, flowers stood in a vase on the table, and the golden light of the setting sun filled the room. . . .
Shabbat is like nothing else. Time as we know it does not exist for these twenty-four hours, and the worries of the week soon fall away. A feeling of joy appears. The smallest object, a leaf or a spoon, shimmers in a soft light, and the heart opens. Shabbat is a meditation of unbelievable beauty."
Labels: sabbath
posted by John David Walt | at 2/02/2007 07:53:00 AM | 5 comments
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve Shabbat David and I went down to Kinlaw Park today to do some wood-carving. We watched a Nativity Story movie this morning and somewhere along the way it featured Joseph in his woodshop working as a carpenter. David thought this would be a good way to celebrate Christmas Eve-- to work with some wood. He had a stick that he wanted to "skin." So we got into the lockbox, chose a few pocket knives and got to work. After he skinned his sword-like stick he had a vision.
David: Dad, lets carve a cross into the sword.
Dad: That's a great idea!
Dad: (on second thought)-- Well, hmmmm. . . . maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea David.
David: Why not?
Dad: David, do you see how the cross and the sword are different?
David: Yes.
Dad: See, the sword kills people. The cross saves people.
David: But Dad. . . . . . didn't the soldier spear Jesus with a sword when he was on the cross?????
Dad: (. . . . long. . . . stunned. . . . silent. . .. pause. . . .)
Dad: (still recovering) UUUUhhhhhhh. . . . . . . yeeeaaaaahhhh. . . . . . . you're right David.
to be continued. . . . .we're headed to Zaxby's for lunch.
Labels: sabbath
posted by John David Walt | at 12/24/2006 12:51:00 PM | 6 comments
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Sabbath verse Sabbath work
makes wiser rest
revealing anxiety's
accomplishment test
still confronts striving
for love long repressed
unveiling the crying
of wounds to be blessed
24 hour embrace
of the Best.
I came up with this one a few weeks back on a day of rest that was scorched with the temptation to get out the to-do list. Make sense what I am saying here? Rest is the ultimate act of faith is it not--a rebuke of the economy of self striving--choosing instead to breathe the air of eternity. posted by John David Walt | at 11/19/2006 02:56:00 PM | 4 comments
Today...