|
Pax et Bonum The Online worship resource for St. James Parish Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23, 24
Loving Lord! Lent I: Sabbath
We as Christians often experience Sabbath as one more day, with perhaps slightly different activities in it - attending church instead of work, for example; but often with the same kinds of activities we find on other days added on: sporting activities, homework, or work-related activities. Most of us have not experienced Sabbath as it was meant to be - a cessation of all labor and distraction, in order to have one day out of the grind, completely out of time itself, in which to exist, to reflect, and to be quiet. In our loss of Sabbath, of entering into Kairos, we have perhaps lost a great blessing. I can’t help wondering if the practice of Sabbath would lower stress, enhance the desire for peace, and strengthen our walk with God in such ways that we would find, once we learned to appreciate the day that we could not live without it.
Dear Lord,
Debra’s Midweek Meditation
It’s a traveling song. It’s a reminder that whatever dangers are on the road, or wherever our particular journey takes us, the Lord is walking in our direction. As we enter into the second week of Lent, our journey toward Jerusalem has already begun. We may have begun with faltering steps, or we may have already stumbled and found that our intentions to come closer to God seem to be thwarted by the very lives we are living. Our Psalm reminds us that we are on the way, even when cannot perceive our progress. God is the Way!
And the Spirit is moving in and out of our steps, the certain and the uncertain,
On March 8th, at St. James, we will have an opportunity to match our steps with the steps of Christ as we walk the Stations of the Cross. We will see that compassion and community pave the path and ease our tired feet.
We will move toward Jerusalem-singing a traveling song- This is the journey of a lifetime!
Blessings,
Daily Morning Prayer: This Week at St. James:
Wednesday: 6pm Soup Supper;
7pm Lenten Series - The Rev. Mike Wallens speaking on the;
Sabbath in the Hebrew Scriptures. Prayers Etc.
Accept Your people, O Lord our God, and receive their prayer. Restore the most holy service of Your house and accept in love the offerings and prayers of Israel. May it please You always to want to accept the service of Your people Israel. May our eyes see You return to Zion in mercy. Blessed are You, O Lord, Who restores His Presence to Zion.
For those on our prayer list: In Closing:
Prayer for the Home
Pax et Bonum, |
In the Greek language, there are two ways of talking about time. There is Chronos, which is time that can be measured - hours, days, weeks, etc., And there is Kairos, meaning "a right or opportune moment," and used to delineate time in between, or a special moment. Sabbath, according to Jewish scholar Abraham Heschel, is a weekly habit of entering Kairos time, where the measure of time as we know it ceases, and the day is accepted as "a precious gift from G-d, a day of great joy eagerly awaited throughout the week, a time when we can set aside all of our weekday concerns and devote ourselves to higher pursuits."
Psalm 121 is one of the "Song of Ascents" perhaps used in procession to Jerusalem.