8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you.11 Because the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:1-17 CEB Jonathan Balmer From the very beginning of creation, God established the day off. In the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, a list often perceived as a list of things not to do, there is listed something we in the West see not as a vice, but a virtue: work. God tells Israel to stop, for one day a week, and rest. The need for a resurgence of rest has entered into the popular milieu. It has become vogue to speak about the benefits of rest. Recently, there has been hearing an increase of news reports on the benefits of time off. There are studies on how healthy work-home separation increases productivity. NPR reported Germany is considering barring bosses emailing employees after 6pm at night. Some companies count employees off in performance reviews for spending too much time at work, fearing an unbalanced schedule hinders productivity. It seems rest can be good for business. Church communities also emphasize Sabbath as a day to worship. Neither of these reasons-- productivity or worship-- are ones the Decalogue gives for God instituting a day of rest. As Walter Bruggeman wrote in Journey to the Common Good, “Sabbath, in the first instance, is not about worship. It is about work stoppage. It is about withdrawal from the anxiety system of Pharaoh, the refusal to let one’s life be defined by production and consumption and the endless pursuit of private well-being.” God’s act of creating is used for a model for Sabbath is not the only season where God has set a model for us. We have an ultimate example in Christ. Lenten season is itself modeled after Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness which began right after his baptism. Traditionally, each Sunday in lent is like a mini-preview of Easter: it is made to rest and breaking the fast is acceptable on Sundays. Rest is part of Lenten practice; it is one of the ways we become imitators of Christ. The Sabbath, Jesus said was made for humanity, not for the benefits to productivity, not for the ability to have good church programming, and humanity was not made for the Sabbath. The commandment is deceptively hard to keep, but it is worth keeping. - - - Creator God, You created rest for us. I pray your Sabbath might free me from the burden of my worth being in my work. Teach me that my worth is in being your creation. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. Click here to work through our Lenten Communal Prayer Jonathan is an English and Journalism teacher in Kentucky. He has a B.A. in English and History form Georgetown College. Jonathan has a Mom and Dad who live in Ohio and a brother attending Georgetown College. He lives with two roommates in a townhouse with décor accurately described as “bachelor pad auction house chic”. Jonathan is a member of Georgetown Baptist church. He studies Church history and plays Super Smash Bros. in his free time.
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.14 He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there. 15 He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency. 16 He said to the dove sellers, “Get these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place of business.” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written, Passion for your house consumes me. John 2:13-17 CEB Stephanie Whiting “[F]or zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.” (Psalm 69:9) Picture the Jesus you know or have heard about. Was he kind, gentle, caring, mild mannered? What did he look like? What did he do? This scripture from John shows a Jesus that probably makes us uncomfortable. Jesus enters the temple court. He finds people selling animals and exchanging money. Our sweet, mild mannered Jesus makes a whip, driving out animals and turning over tables. He’s angry and upset. How many times have you been angry and upset? How does being angry make you feel? I feel guilt and shame. Jesus came to remove that from our lives, because we’re human and the flesh causes us to feel anger, guilt and shame. So what’s the scandal? We refuse to acknowledge that Jesus, divine, but fully human experiences anger, but THIS anger is righteous anger. Jesus is not angry because someone broke his toy. He is angry because God is angry. This is the Psalm 69:9 Jesus. This is God the divine residing in the human Jesus. This zealous Jesus is the example of how to handle ourselves in passion, emotional anger inducing situations. It is the litmus test in our anger: is this what makes me angry or what makes God angry. I am a nurse. I work with children. I see abuse and neglect. It makes me angry. It breaks God’s heart. I feel no guilt for being angry about this. - - - Heavenly Father, break my heart for what breaks yours. Remind me that what insults you insults me. Give me the zeal to use my anger in a righteous manner. Click here to work through our Lenten Communal Prayer Stephanie is an ordinary person, family member, and nurse. For 20 years she was an active member of Amnesty International.
7 I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. Gen 17: 1-7, 15-16 CEB Rev. Frank Sherard There are a few things that are just basics when it comes to leading a church or as I’ve learned with and from my wife in the last couple of years, planting a church. First and foremost is building relationships. Our passage here shows us from the very beginning how important that basic concept is. God speaks to Abram and says, “I will establish (build) my covenant (promise) between me and you….” To promise someone anything, one has to be in relationship….together. AND, covenant is unique to scripture in that it’s an eternal promise….one that cannot be broken on God’s part. But, notice that the scripture goes even further by putting an exclamation point on that which is already eternal, not just a covenant, but and “everlasting covenant!” God is so moved to be in relationship with the people of God that God makes an eternal, ETERNAL promise with Abram and ALL those that come after him. That’s where this scripture becomes personal…..personal for you and me. God is moved to be in and build up a personal, eternal, ETERNAL relationship promise with me, with you, with each and every one of us. But, there is a kicker, isn’t there? The kicker? Covenant, as our scripture decries, is a two-way promise. While it’s an eternal truth that God cannot and will not break a covenant, we are the other side/part of the equation. We, like Abram, must be willing to cease to exist like God promised Abram if we do not hold up our end of the bargain. When we call upon God to be our God and to be God’s people we must be willing to put God first in every situation in our lives and know, I mean KNOW that God will NOT forsake us and will be our God. We have a choice, serve the world or serve God. As for me (and my house, prayerfully) I’ll “fall on my face” and serve God. Join me and let’s let God make us “exceedingly fruitful.” - - - Wonderful, Promising, God, help us to strive for deeper relationship with you. Show us the way to truly experience you love and grace in everyday situations. Amen. Click here to work through our Lenten Communal Prayer Frank has been a Minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for over 20 years having served churches in Northwest Missouri and Louisiana. He currently serves as the Senior Minister for First Christian Church of Lafayette, LA and the Mentor Minister at Jerusalem Christian Church in Lafayette, LA. He has been married to his wife, Ashley, for 8 years and they have three beautiful little girls who keep them very busy. Rev. Frank is an alumni of Texas Christian University and is a very proud Horned Frog, the Sherard’s bleed purple! On top of TCU athletics Rev. Frank enjoys movies, he especially enjoys Star Wars and Star Trek.
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