August 22, 2010

It is important for us to establish boundaries for our children, to give them guidelines as to how they can live - respecting others, being kind, having manners. We also want them to learn about God, to make a space in their hearts for gratitude, so that they can one day give thanks to God for blessings.

One of the big challenges of living in a culture where "busy" is a cherished word, is that it is hard to carve out time for rest and renewal. Sunday is no longer a sacred day, a day set aside. The idea of Sabbath has been lost in many ways. From the beginnings of our faith story, Sabbath has been a cherished commodity. In the Hebrew text it is in fact not an option. "You are to remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy."

Jesus was teaching on one particular Sabbath day at the synagogue. In the middle of his teaching this woman enters. We can imagine that she came right up the aisle. It was hard to miss her. She was bent over, unable to straighten, so she was entering slowly. Can't we envision what the scene might be. People turned to look. Some were annoyed because of the interruption, and others were curious. Jesus interrupted his teaching, called her to him, and healed her - right on the spot.

The leader of the synagogue was annoyed and scolded Jesus by saying to the crowd, "There are 6 days in which work is to be done. come on those days and be cured, but not on the Sabbath." Jesus broke the rule. He disobeyed the law and the leader of the synagogue was furious.

Jesus gives us a glimpse of what a deepening relationship can look like. When children are small, it is important to spell out the boundaries, to give them a sense of what is right and wrong. We want them to obey the rules for their sake, and for their safety. But a relationship develops. Simple obedience does not always suffice.

For Jesus, compassion and love trumped everything else. When he saw a need, he reached out a hand.

Children grow. We try our best to protect them and to teach them. We hope that they will follow all the rules. Sometimes they don't, and sometimes they stumble, they falter, they get lost along the way. And we do our best to forgive them and love them through it, recognizing that we, too, were once in their shoes. But most of us hope that they will grow into ,men and women with minds of their own, and hearts larger and deeper as they grow. We desire our youth to become loving and compassionate people.

Jesus wanted his listeners that day to get a sense that spiritual maturity was not guaranteed, even if one followed the letter of the law for a whole life long. "You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul, and your neighbor as yourself. On these lie all the laws of the prophets."

Jesus healed on that Sabbath because it was the compassionate thing to do. But he wasn't throwing out the law. He was putting it in a context. He was not suggesting that we be freed from observing a Sabbath day, but that acts of love are encouraged and acceptable every day.

The story speaks in another way though, in sort of a surprising way. Have you ever had those moments when you were trying to get through a task, or to the bottom of the list that you had written up for the day, and the unexpected happens. A phone call, a visit, another's need. In a matter of seconds, we decide - should I resume what I was doing? Or not?

What if Jesus had ignored the woman? We don't know her story. We don't know how long she had been isolated at home, or how much courage it took for her to enter the synagogue that day. Had she heard about Jesus, and thought to herself, "Maybe he can help me!"? What if Jesus had ignored her and allowed the crowd to be annoyed by her interruption of his teaching?

Jesus is teaching us a lesson here, through his actions and with his presence. It is a lesson about being attentive to what crosses our path, especially when we are deep in our agenda.

So what do we miss when our head is down, our pace is quick, our date books or iphones are overflowing or even beeping with reminders and commitments? Jesus didn't wait. He attended to the woman right there and right then, and we read that the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. Jesus wanted the people to see that both love and being in the moment are important. To do so, he dared to break the accepted cultural rule.

Sabbath was designed so that there would be a space in each person's life, a time set aside so that one could develop spiritually. Jesus didn't throw that out. But he reminded us of what should be at its heart.

So how do we develop our spirituality? How do we allow and encourage ourselves to be present in the moment? What happens when we get to those spaces where we are only dreaming about what might be, only considering how we can get everything done, those moments when we are annoyed that someone else has a need, some interruption has gotten in our way? Prayerfully, carefully, patiently. The truth is that without setting aside a time for sabbath, it is really hard. We need days when we pause to consider the blessings before us; days to enjoy the present moment, to remind ourselves of the lesson, and to not sweat the small stuff. A day to love ourselves and to recall that it is not what we have or how much we physically do, but that it is love that makes a difference in the end.
Long ago people went to church. They sat with family for meals. They read the Bible. The purpose was to gain perspective to remember what was really important. To rest. Rest. I don't know if people in the old days did any better or drew any closer to God, or got spiritually deeper than people today, but I would guess that the chances were greater.

Our challenge is great. There are so many things that pull us in so many directions. But we can't ignore this need we have to grow spiritually, to connect with that which is far greater than we are, to feel gratitude deep within. We need that. We need places in our lives where we can quench that thirst, where we grow deeper instead of just growing more tired.

Prayerfully. Carefully. Patiently.

In some ways to do that we need to break some of the rules of our culture. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes the need that arises before us is more important than completing our list of things to do.

Sometimes the tempting opportunity takes us over the top, so that the wiser choice is instead to maybe go to church, have a meal with a friend, spend a quiet night reading something that speaks to our spirit.

Sabbath is important. Jesus wasn't denying that. We all need it, but he also wanted to remind us that nothing is as important as the love we have for God and one another. Sometimes we just need some quiet time to remember that, and to practice it.

At a baptism, we have hopes and dreams for a child, this morning for Stanley. We make promises to help him grow, to show him love, to teach him of our faith. In order to do that well, we need to be developing also. How can we grow deeper? What are the things we can do that will help us strengthen our spiritual life?

Let us open ourselves up to the possibilities.

Amen.