Scriptures for the Second Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 49:8-16a, Psalm 131, I Corinthians 4:1-5, Matthew 6:24-34
When I was a kid growing up in a holiness denomination, there was still a lot of legalism surrounding the observance of Sabbath. I remember when I was 10 I traveled with my parents to the General Conference of our denomination. It was held in a small town in the middle of Indiana. This town was home to two denominational headquarters and a bible school. One of the fun things to do in this little town was to go swimming or canoeing in the lake. One hot, humid summer Sunday, I headed down to the lake in my swim trunks ready to plunge into the lake to cool off. That idea went right out of the window as soon as I got to the lake and found the beach closed. A big sign on the fence, quoted the fourth commandment, “Thou shalt remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Underneath this biblical command was the local ordinance banning any swimming or boating in the lake on Sundays. I was at a loss as to how swimming in a lake on a hot day was breaking the Sabbath.
Although we have to be careful not to go to legalistic extremes, we should remember an important principle of which the Sabbath reminds us. That principle is the consecration of time.
And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation. (Genesis 2:3 NIV)
To “consecrate” means to set aside for a special purpose. When God consecrated the Sabbath, He set it apart. What God sets apart becomes holy. Since God declared one day to be set apart as Holy, it became law in the Fourth Commandment of the Ten Commandments. Specifically, the law stated that people were not to work on the Sabbath.
Laws always lead to “what if” questions. They beg for further clarification. In Jesus’ time, the Sabbath had been clarified over and over through a set of very specific “don’ts” that went way beyond the spirit of the law, or principle of consecration. The Pharisees could even tell you how many steps you could take on the Sabbath before you were considered to be working. Of course Jesus got in trouble for “violating” the Sabbath. In one instance Jesus responded by saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
Jesus reminded us that consecrated time is a blessing. It is something we need. It is something that God gave us for our good.
The consecration of time is something we just do not know in this crazy, fast paced, stressful kind of lifestyle we tend to lead. So we must ask, “How do we consecrate time?” Consecration, or setting apart, has to do with creating borders or boundaries. Do we regularly set boundaries to create “holy” time in our lives? By holy time, I mean time that is set apart for fellowship with God and others. Holy time is time for true rest and recreation (or re-creation). What types of activities bring us into fellowship with God and others? What brings us true rest and renewal?
If we hope to successfully set apart time for these purposes, we have to set some boundaries around certain time periods. I hate to say it, but if we don’t impose some strict boundaries we will find that our consecrated time will be invaded by the same old, same old. We will find that business, urgent demands, chores, work, and even mindless activities that don’t truly renew will all find their place and crowd out “holy time.”
Here are some traditional ways that Christians have consecrated time.
1. Sunday. Christians have from earliest times viewed Sunday as a holy day. It is the day when Christ rose from the dead. It is the symbolic, “eighth day” of the new creation. It is our tradition to set this day (especially Sunday morning) aside for corporate worship. It has been a time when the community of believers do the "work" of worship together (liturgy). In this day and age all kinds of things crowd their way into this consecrated time. Work schedules, sports on TV, shopping, chores, and recreational activities that we don’t seem to have any other time to get in, all invade this special “holy” time. Of course there is no hard and fast rule (legalism) that says that Christians must go to church on Sunday mornings, and in fact many can’t these days. But for those of us who can, have we set a boundary around this time? Do we have a time set apart for gathering with other believers on a weekly basis for worship?
2. The Christian Year. Early Jewish Christians marked their year with observance of Jewish holy days and periods. Over time, Christians began to mark time with special days and periods of their own. These “holy times” connect us with God’s story and bring us into it. Eugene Peterson, author of the Message describes it in his book entitled, Eat this Book, as follows, “…the sweeping tidal rhythms of the church year in which the story of Jesus and the Christian makes its rounds century after century, the large and easy interior rhythms of a year that moves from birth, life, death, resurrection, on to spirit, obedience, faith, and blessing.” Instead, our years tend to be defined by annual events that add stress and create debt. Tax deadlines, birthdays and holidays which obligate us to spend money, the back to school rush, holiday preparations and lots of pre-Christmas shopping, and so on, all crowd out this beautiful and traditional way in which Christians have consecrated time. Taxes, holidays, and shopping are inevitable. But are there ways that we can consecrate the cycle of our year by setting apart special holy days and periods?
3. The Daily Office. Again, early Jewish Christians were used to praying at certain set points throughout the day. This practice was later developed by monastics into daily times for the "work" of prayer (offices). Lauds, Vespers, Compline, and others are names monks used for appointed consecrated times of prayer each day. We may not have the luxury of living in a monastery where the day is ordered around prayer points. But do we set boundaries around time periods each day to spend in prayer? Do we have that quiet time and space away from the intrusions of the day just to be still or to meditate on God’s word? What kind of boundaries do we need to construct to protect the blessing of time with God?
When we carve out consecrated time in our lives by placing boundaries around special days, hours, and minutes, we make an important acknowledgment. We acknowledge that there are limits to what we can do. We get caught up in trying to squeeze it all in and get it all done. We feel like we can’t afford to stop and rest. Some of us may even feel guilty. We may feel like the world is on our shoulders and everything is going to fall apart if we don’t just get that extra thing done. Life begins to speed up and pass by in a blur of deadlines, goals we have to meet, and obligations that must be fulfilled. Consecrating time acknowledges that the world rests on God’s shoulders and not our own. Setting aside time for true rest, prayer, and worship gives us a better perspective and helps us to set our priorities straight.
Without being legalistic, think about when and how you could place some walls around your time. How can you create that breathing room for worship and true rest?
I’ll leave you with a couple of readings from this coming Sunday’s lectionary scriptures. Why not carve out some time to meditate on them?
Psalm 131 (the Message)
1 God, I'm not trying to rule the roost, I don't want to be king of the mountain. I haven't meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. 2 I've kept my feet on the ground, I've cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother's arms, my soul is a baby content. 3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!
Matthew 6:25- 27 (NIV)
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
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