"While it still was very dark"-Sermon for Epiphany 5, Mark 1:29-39
Perhaps, if a KUT listener, you have recently heard the spot they have been running for StoryCorps, who was in town recently. StoryCorps is a non-profit that travels around the country collecting stories…mainly loved ones interviewing each other…stories of lives lived and decisions made…such that the wisdom and inspiration shared is not lost to time and can be enjoyed by others. So, the spot KUT has been running recently, to get folk to go and tell their stories, is of a man reflecting on a conversation with his own father who was or is a farmer. Now this is not a direct quote…but the man says that his father, the farmer, would more or less say that the 100 or so acres of land he worked and loved was all of the world that he needed to be filled and satisfied…and, further, that if someone needed a vacation then they needed a new job. Now, I get his sentiment…there is wisdom to found here…and what he suggests resonates with me. For I am one, like the farmer, who is supremely blessed to have a career or vocation that he feels called to, even created for, and loves…for being a priest for me is not just a job…but essential to my own self-understanding…as much a part of me as being a father, brother, son, husband, and friend. I absolutely love what I get to do with each of you, and I hope that you feel similarly about the careers and vocations that make up your own lives.
That is, I hope that the careers and vocations where you spend much of your time produces good and productive work, and that it provides some challenge that leads to personal growth…a sense of meaning and purposefulness and usefulness…whether in the home, or a business, or a concert hall, or a school…wherever your work happens…whether you volunteer or are paid…whether pre or post retirement. I suppose the wisdom I see in the farmer’s comment, what resonate with me, is that if one finds no meaning or purpose in one’s career or vocation…then perhaps a season of discernment is in order. I think that is wise…wherever that discernment might lead…perhaps down a newly discovered path…or perhaps just a new appreciation for what one’s current career provides. For there is dignity in work, whether it is a means to some other end, like the financial resources to support those we love and the other things we like to spend our time doing when not working…or whether the work itself provides its own sense of satisfaction and importance…or both.
Now, I realize I might be reading too much into the farmer’s suggestion here…I know nothing of his own spirituality or what makes up his whole life…but, for one who finds dignity in his work, work that both supports life beyond church and brings much self-understanding and purpose to who I am, I, for one, still need, at least each year, a vacation…some time off…some time away…some time in rest and play…some time in contemplation and prayer…some time entirely focused on the people I love…some time getting lost in other hobbies and interests…some time to disconnect from the daily work that comprises my vocation…to reconnect…to reconnect with myself, with those I love, even with the God I love. For even in the midst of what I might broadly call “church work”, there is not always time, at least for me, to simply revel in God’s abiding presence…to listen for his voice, wisdom and direction…to experience God, as he comes to me, in the lives of others or just in the beauty of creation. So, though what that farmer suggests about his own career or vocation resonates with me…profoundly so…I appreciate his sentiment…there is much wisdom there…much for us to think about in regard to discerning God’s will and call on our lives, in particular, in regard to our own careers and vocations…I don’t know if I am entirely onboard with the whole vacation, time off, time away, piece.
And I think, further, that our own spiritual tradition and gentle disciplines would not entirely agree with his sentiment either. And I speak here specifically of the spiritual tradition of Sabbath. An ancient tradition, rooted deeply in our Jewish heritage…going all the way back to Moses and his law receiving moment on Mt. Saini…for honoring the Sabbath is one of the ten big ones…one of the Ten Commandments…up there with honoring God and honoring parents and truth telling and fidelity and not murdering and not coveting the possessions of others. Which is all to suggest that Sabbath keeping is a chief discipline, command, or practice that the God of love deeply desires for is to keep. I would even argue that it is among the most important spiritual practices for us to keep, to calendar, to set time aside for, to intentionally create space in our lives for. Perhaps this is the one thing to covet…to even make sacred. And, I say this, for I believe that the most important things in life, are utterly dependent on it. So, I will say it again. I believe Sabbath keeping is utterly essential, for the most important things in our God given lives, are entirely dependent on it…those being our relationship, one with another, with God, and even our work.
We even see the one we follow, Jesus, the one who’s life and teaching and example, we seek to emulate, for it is the way of God, the very way of love…we see Jesus create Sabbath time. For example, in our Gospel lesson today, Mark tells us that in the midst of his life giving, good and Godly work…his own career and vocation of making people whole, setting people free from bondage, assuring people of God’s all-encompassing love for their lives…that God knows them intimately, loves them entirely, and wants to partner with them in working to make our world the sort of love filled, healthy, fully alive, justice oriented world that God dreams of…in the midst of this work to which Jesus is entirely called…his own life’s work…he sneaks away…early in the morning while still dark…he disconnects, to reconnect. And the gospels are dappled with similar stories of Jesus taking time off…finding quiet places for prayer, contemplation and reflection…finding space to connect deeply with God…listening for God’s call and direction for his life…even finding time for dinner parties and wedding receptions…intimate gatherings with friends…what I think of as intentional space, sometimes alone…sometimes with those he loves, for rest and play…for rejuvenating and recreating. And I intentionally couple rest and play together, for in my own experience, for some rest is play…and for others play is rest. Some prefer silence for prayer…others prefer praying out loud with others…some disconnect and rest with a good book and cup of tea…all alone wrapped up in a cozy blanket…while other cook with friends or find peace in a river with a fly-rod in hand…but the result is the same…Sabbath created…restless minds rejuvenated…human spirits filled and refreshed…entirely reconnected to God, one another, and the world around us.
Now, as you know, Sabbath actually refers to something in particular…it is a time set aside in the Jewish tradition, from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday…that begins and ends with eating with loved ones…to intentionally provide the space and time for worship, rest, relationship, and recreation…but not work. Traditionally speaking, many Christians have assigned Sundays for a similar sort of practice. And what I like about these traditions…is that Sabbath is intentional, regular, habitual, and calendared. It is a part of the regular rhythm of life. But what I think is most important about these sorts of traditions and practices is the fact that it creates room in an intentional and on-going way…a pattern, if you will, that creates space for work, indeed, most of the time for work, in fact, but, also it establishes patterns for regular rest and refreshment. Now our own lives may be organized differently than this…for many work weekends in our world…clergy work Sundays…homework and papers get completed on Saturdays and Sundays…a weekend trip to the office is not irregular for many…including, I am sure, for many of you. But I believe what is essential, that these historical and traditional patterns remind us of, is the utter importance of finding, within and along with our varied commitments, work and otherwise, the intentional space…once a week…once a month…30 mins in the morning or evening…using vacations, sabbaticals and holidays…to create Sabbath…intentional, on-going, habitual time to disconnect…in order to reconnect.
And, if honest, this is not always easy for us to accomplish. One of the intentions for my own sabbatical was to write poetry…not to replace the work I was taking a break from…but to free my mind from distractions of all sorts and just wander and wonder about the life I live, the people I love, my faith…all that matters most to me. Poetry was indeed a form of Sabbath keeping for me…but it wasn’t easy to begin. It wasn’t, in my protestant work ethic suffused mind set, a natural inclination. So here is the first poem I wrote. The first time I sat down to clear my mind…to leave behind…just for a time…the life we share together…to rest and play…to rejuvenate and recreate…to keep some Sabbath time for myself. The poem is called: First Day…and then in parenthesis (of sabbatical). It reads…
What to do
Feeling a bit useless
Listless at least
Self-compassion! Rest is good
You deserve it
Don’t burn out
Sabbath and all
It’s in the bible
Followed, of course, by self-recrimination and judgement
You are lazy
You should be at work
But remember self-compassion!
You are a rock star
The rad-est of all the rad
So…Play
Cook
Eat
Read
Pray
Rest
Move
Laugh
Fish
Write
In whatever order you like
Most especially with each other
That’s what to do
So, it is more of a ditty than a poem, but I hope you see the real conflict I was experiencing between reveling in Sabbath, which was taking the form of sabbatical, and, quite frankly, feeling ashamed of it. It seems I worked it out in the end…or more likely I just wanted a happy ending for the poem. For, Sabbath Keeping is, or least can be, a real challenge for us. One, because we are genuinely busy people, and, two, because we live in a culture that has formed us to believe that one’s inherent value is measured by one’s visible productivity. Perhaps this is why God commands it and Jesus demonstrates it…for, left to our own devices, we would likely not do it. Further, this is why I refer to Sabbath as a spiritual discipline or practice…because it indeed requires great intention if it is ever to become habitual.
And so, I think Jesus sneaking off today is an invitation to disconnect, to reconnect…whatever timing, shape and form Sabbath takes in your own life…for that you get to choose your own adventure. As I suggested earlier, I think the most important things in life are utterly dependent on it. And, I speak here of our essential relationships that need space and time to grow and deepen. I speak here of our relationship with the God of love that needs space and time to grow and deepen. And, I even speak here of work, in whatever form that takes…our careers and vocations…for the burned out and tired lack the creative fire that fuels our own productivity…and allows us to find purposefulness and meaning in the work that fills so much of our lives. So as Lent looms before us, about two weeks away, perhaps Sabbath keeping is just the sort of spiritual discipline, we might want to consider. Amen.