Exodus 20:8

“Go to the people.  For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy God.  Have them scrub their clothes so that on the third day they’ll be fully prepared . . . “

                                                Exodus 19:10 (The Message)

                                    “Make yourselves Holy for I am Holy”

                                                      Leviticus 11:44

Reflection:  HOLINESS

     We live in a world that has lost its sense of the sacred: sacred place, time, objects, acts, or people.  Little is set aside and guarded “religiously” from becoming common or even corrupt.  Things that were designed in God’s creation as Holy or sacred (set apart) such as marriage, sex, ritual, symbol, earth, our bodies, or Sabbath time, have been invaded and diminished in their sacredness by our loss of the sense of what is Holy.  With it has gone our sense of awe, reverence, anticipation, the Divine, and even the sacredness of life itself.  So much of our lives are lived out in the day in day out seemingly mundane act of sleeping, waking, cleaning, working, shopping, cooking eating, cleaning, sleeping, waking, working . . . . . .   And even though there is sacredness to all of those acts, in the routine of it all we lose our sense of it.

     Sabbath is a sanctuary in time.  It is time set apart to step out of the routine, reorient our perspective to what is Holy in our lives.  In the Jewish tradition, keeping Sabbath meant a time of preparation, preparing our lives and hearts to enter into the sacredness of life and an intentional awareness of the presence of God.  Everything done on the Sabbath was intended to reawaken us to the sacredness of life itself, life lived in the presence of God and enjoying all the gifts God gives us in it.  So there is time to rest from our labor, worship in sacred spaces, eat a good meal with family or friends, share intimate times with one’s spouse, revel in the creation, and in it all to be immersed in the sacredness of life.  Like any sanctuary, Sabbath offers protection from the world’s constant pull downward to reduce life and everything in it to commonplace.  Sabbath changes our perspective by changing the pace at which we live.  Perspective is always changed by slowing down.  Things look different when walking or sitting than they do driving at 70mph or flying at 30,000 feet.  We see the beauty in little things we might otherwise miss and hear with clarity what is drowned out by speed.  Sabbath is our sanctuary in time by which we step out of the world and enter into a taste of heaven.

Practice:  Guard your Sabbath time with the same zeal you would your work day.  Begin the Sabbath, by sitting quietly, breathing deeply, stilling the rushing of the mind and body that we are immersed in during the week’s work.  Spend time in confession to cleanse the heart and soul.  The night before worship, spend some time laying out clothing or reading the Word in anticipation of morning worship.  Start readying yourself early enough for worship not to be rushed and ask God as you enter sacred space to guard your heart and mind from distraction.  After worship enjoy a leisurely meal, don’t rush to get up or run out.

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