services of worship

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As I write this, I’m sitting on the side of a mountain in New Mexico enjoying some serious peace and quiet. As some of you know, I try to spend a few days each spring and fall on this mountain as I open and close Mary Schmidt’s Sommer Berg Heim (that’s what it says above the door to the screened in porch where I’m sitting). This is a mutually beneficial gift I receive from Mary. For a number of years now, I make sure the cabin is ready for summer and closed down properly for a long cold winter. In exchange, I get to sit on the side of this mountain and enjoy the solitude and Sabbath time that I need. If you ask me, I have the better part of this arrangement.

I know not everyone is cut out for periods of solitude; it drives some people crazy. But I also know we all need periods of Sabbath in our lives, which is why one of the Ten Commandments calls us to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. The great part about Sabbath is we can find it in many ways and times.  

We typically associate the Sabbath with Sunday, but of course for the ancient Jews, Shabbat started shortly before sundown on Friday and lasted through the appearance of the first three starts in the sky on Saturday. It was a time spent with family, celebrating God’s blessings.

I believe no matter your religious tradition, we all need Sabbath, time spent resting from the call on our lives from our normal routines and contemplating God’s gifts in our lives.

For me, there is no better Sabbath than spending a few days sitting on this little porch, doing as little as possible, and simply relaxing as I gaze down the mountain. That doesn’t mean I don’t find Sabbath at other times or places. I’ve spent hours sitting on the back porch at home, staring into the darkness of the night sky and contemplating the vastness of the universe, a practice I find both restful and humbling. I enjoy sitting in my favorite chair with a dog in my lap thinking about little, if anything, other than how fortunate I am to have that time.

For me, Sabbath is renewing, and I think that is the point. We all need to renew ourselves on a frequent basis, in order to live the lives to which we are called.

My prayer for you, as I sit here on this mountain, is that you too can find ways to experience Sabbath times in your lives. I implore you to follow the command from God to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

See you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Kelly