Tuesday, November 1st, 2011click here for past entriesA Sabbath Rest
I recently came across something that gave me a new perspective on what it means to have the Sabbath as a day of rest. I had sometimes wondered how worship fits into the whole picture, as sometimes worship can seem like awfully hard work. (And liturgy is the “work of the people”!) Of course, then there are also those who wish that worship wasn’t so early so that they could sleep in.
However, biblically, the idea of the Sabbath rest is similar to “resting in the Lord.” To “rest” is to get rid of other distractions in order to focus on the presence of God. It is related to being still and being quiet, always in order to be aware of the presence and power of God. Thus, because worship draws us into God’s presence and helps us to focus on God, it really is an important part of the Sabbath rest!
Convention Follow-Up
Following our October council meeting, I became convinced that I need to write something in response to some of the more controversial convention decisions from this past summer. I’m not going to do it here, as what I write will require more space than a “Pastor’s Page.” However, I will let you know here what will be coming.
For many people, the biggest question is how to reconcile the convention decisions related to same-gender couples with what the Bible has to say. Thus, my intention is to address some of the biblical passages that are most often quoted in the debate and to write about my own understanding and response to each one. My hope would be that some dialogue would be able to follow.
While another option might be to have a Bible study on those same passages, the reality is that there’s never a “good” time when everybody who is interested can come. Thus, if there’s something in writing that people can read as they have time, hopefully more people will be able to join the conversation.
Insights on Jesus and Prayer
In our current DVD Bible study on prayer, the second session is entitled “Why Pray?”. Philip Yancey’s answer to that question is quite simple: “Because Jesus did.” In the gospels we constantly hear about Jesus going off by himself and taking the time to pray. Jesus obviously needed this time in order to be renewed and strengthened and in order to maintain his close relationship with God. At the same time, this need for Jesus to spend time in prayer led to some reflection on the human and divine natures of Jesus during his time on this earth.
It has long been the understanding of the church that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. However, it has become more obvious to me of late that Jesus totally laid aside his divine nature during his time as a human being here on earth. Hebrews talks about how Jesus shared our human experience and temptations in every way except one: He did not sin (Heb. 4:15). The fact that Jesus felt the need to be constantly in prayer reinforces how fully he shared our humanity. After all, why would God need to constantly spend time with God?
There are, of course, Jesus’ miracles and his power to heal to consider. However, it is significant to note that many of Jesus’ followers had, and still have, this same power to heal following Jesus’ death and resurrection. In other words, you do not have to be the Son of God in order for God’s power & God’s Spirit to work through you!
In Christ,
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
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