TGIF

Thank God it’s Friday!

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a really good week. But it is nice to be able to take a breath on Friday evening.

I love “Downton Abbey!” One of the most well know lines from the show is when Matthew is talking about the weekend and the Dowager Countess asks, “What is a weekend?!” Her lifestyle of relative luxury meant that one day ran into the other with very little differentiation.

During the pandemic, particularly early on, there were times when we would lose track of what day it was. Our routines and rhythms were completely disrupted. We were home every day. Over time, we could get out and about a little bit more (making sure to maintain safe practices) which was helpful. We are fortunate that Zach is at a school that has been able to safely return to on-campus learning through a phased approach. Our weeks are now a bit more ordered. We are very aware that this is not true for the vast majority of students and try not to take is for granted.

Sabbath is an important discipline in the Judeo-Christian community. In Jewish tradition, Sabbath begins at sundown Friday and runs to sundown Saturday. For most Christians, sabbath has been traditionally observed on Sundays.

Many of you reading this will know that we have launched a new community of faith during these challenging times. We had originally planned to have a soft launch with a sunrise service on Easter Sunday. For all of us, everything changed around March 12th. Every Sunday since March 15th, we have offered a brief sermon and prayer live at 10AM. While we have a nice group of people who join us at that time, many more will watch the service at some other point during the week. What we are learning is that people are finding new ways to observe the sabbath. I suspect that this is a behavior that will be forever altered for some.

One of the disciplines of Sabbath is to fast. Obviously the first thing we think about is fasting from food. But there are other things from which we can (and probably should) fast!

Some of you have written to tell me that you are avoiding the news all together. I think that is a very reasonable response to the chaos that has consumed us. For the first six weeks or so of the pandemic, we were glued to the news. Then, we fasted for a while. We would read and/or watch just enough news each day to stay informed. As the election season ramped up, I began to increase my consumption of news and information. But, even now, there are times during the day and during the week when I try to turn it all off and focus on something else.

So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.

Romans 12:1-2