We treat rest like it is something we must earn, rather than something that we require for health and happiness.
Bells: A Meditation for Teachers
August 23, 2022 by
Telephone bells, doorbells, school bells, and fire alarms all alert us and prepare us to go into action. Our modern use of bells is totally different than one hundred years ago. Church bells rang the hour of the day and told of a death.
As Slow as Christmas
December 8, 2021 by
It was late on Christmas Day; the sun had set and my parents and I were somewhere between Yatesville and Barnesville on our way back home after the day-long celebration of Christ’s birth through the eating of food and the exchanging of gifts.
A Dark Day of Rest
April 13, 2021 by
The disciples, the women who had been following Jesus, and the other followers of Christ rested on the Sabbath. Joseph of Arimathea had taken Jesus’ body on that Friday and placed him in a tomb.
Formations 08.05.2018: Our Daily Bread
July 29, 2018 by
Studs Terkel, in the early seventies, interviewed a number of workers ranging from farmworkers to baseball players, proofreaders to gravediggers, actors to hair stylists. From these laborers, Terkel observed a twofold purpose in human labor. “It is,” he says, “about a search… for daily meaning as well as daily bread.”
Formations 02.18.2018: Run the Race
February 11, 2018 by
For the writer of Hebrews, rest best describes the promise given to Abraham and subsequent generations. So the vision for Israelite society in the promised land rested in sabbath. Likewise, Christian communities would be guided by a commitment to rest. But this writer also understood that the promise did not come into fullness immediately.
Formations 02.11.2018: Old School
February 4, 2018 by
Today’s passage lies at the intersection of rest and discipleship. Ironically, rest is something that disciples have to strive for. It isn’t automatic, anymore than it was automatic for the wilderness generation that refused to listen to God’s voice.
Connections 01.07.2018: God’s Words, Our Words
December 31, 2017 by
The first words God speaks in the first words of the Bible are creative ones: “Let there be light.” “And,” the narrator reports, “there was light.” God speaks. Something happens. And so it goes through all the days of creation.
A View from the Pew: What Are We Waiting For?
December 23, 2015 by
I wasn’t introduced to Advent as a season of spiritual reflection and anticipation until well into adulthood. But for nearly 20 years now, this season has enriched my spiritual journey leading up to Christmas.
Uniform 12.06.2015: A True Sabbath
November 29, 2015 by
Before you read further, stop and name everything on your to-do list—all the little everyday concerns that add up to create a relatively smooth life for you and those in your care.
Uniform 06.28.2015: No Rest for the Greedy or the Needy
June 21, 2015 by
One reason that Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath was out of a sense of empathy for those who were most tied to their labor, who were most dependent on those who were wealthier than they were.
God in a Hurry
May 20, 2015 by
Recently, computer problems at work caused me to have to shut down my computer and restart it. This was a routine delay of two minutes, maybe three, while my computer reset and I reentered my password.
In Pursuit of the Spirit: The Search for Sabbath in a Busy Life
September 9, 2014 by
I recently started working at a local church as their Church School Coordinator, and while the job will soon be just ten hours a week, for the past three weeks it has been closer to forty hours a week.
A View from the Pew: Asleep at the Pew
May 27, 2014 by
Of all the human frailties that impact my ability to worship God, none frustrates me more than fatigue. As a child, I never slept in church. I was always a wiggler, which in hindsight I prefer to describe as “an active listener.”