February 23, 2023 – “Sabbath as a Spiritual Discipline”

“He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? How he entered the house of God, and theyate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:3-8

When we hear someone talk about Sabbath, we tend to think of a weekend worship service. The day of the Sabbath can be Saturday, or Sunday – where we attend worship offering up our prayers, praise and thanksgiving to G-d. But the act of Sabbath is something different and can be done on any day.

In Jesus’ time the Jewish religious leaders made the seventh day of rest unrecognizable from what G-d intended. Following what they THOUGHT was the example of the prophet Nehemiah, they decided how far a person could walk, the weight they could carry, and even whether or not they could be HEALED on the Sabbath. Jesus’ approach to the Sabbath, however, was based on common sense. He and the disciples usually ignored the unbiblical traditions of the Jews regarding the Sabbath because Jesus felt they were missing what was at the heart of Sabbath, and who was Lord of the Sabbath. As Jesus said, “The Sabbath was meant for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27), and as Matthew Henry said “G-d never designed it to be a burden to us, therefore we must not make it so to ourselves.”

When we are to remember the Sabbath, as G-d inscribed as the third commandment (yes in some denominations it is the fourth commandment), it can be a reminder to worship G-d – and it can be a reminder to find some holy time and space in your day and do nothing but reflect on your relationship with G-d – not to add more rules and regulations to it, but to use it for our benefit.

During Lent, we should be finding time to reflect on our relationship with G-d, and in that regard, it should be more than just a Sunday affair. Taking a Sabbath can happen any day of the week, any day and time we can carve out for quiet, rest and reflection.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, you are Lord of the Sabbath. Help me to keep sabbath as often as possible, and to honor the Sabbath every day. Amen.

Pastor Dave

February 22, 2023 – Ash Wednesday

The Ashen Cross

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-6

“Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were the three pillars of piety for a devout Jew. All three pillars of Jewish piety are put together in these three teachings. All three teachings (almsgiving, prayer and fasting) have identical key phrases e.g. “truly I say to you, they have received their reward,” and “your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” “hypocrites.” All three acts of piety can easily be transformed to be acts of self-glorification. All three acts of piety can be done not to glorify God but to glorify one’s self. By contrast, Christians are to do these pious actions, but do them privately and secretly.” (Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting, Edward F. Markquart)

Martin Luther stressed justification by faith through G-d’s grace – it is the centerpiece of our Lutheran understanding of salvation. It is by faith that we are saved, not by our works. But this word justification has another connotation – it also means to grow closer to something. For example, in word processing, when we want to move our words on a page closer to one side or the other, we make sure that it is either right or left “justified”. Paul also used the word “faith” interchangeably with the word “listen”. In other words, “Justification by Faith” can also mean that we “draw closer to G-d by listening” – listening to G-d – listening with our full attention. Grow closer to G-d by listening to G-d the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And so we begin this Lenten season by returning to G-d’s word, by coming to the table to share in the Lord’s supper, by remembering our baptisms as we trace an ashen cross in the very spot where we were marked and sealed with the cross of Christ on our first day as G-d’s holy child, and by making a decision these next forty days to be more attentive to hearing G-d’s voice in our daily lives. Remember, just three or four days ago we heard G-d command us from the cloud on the mountain that we are to “Listen to Jesus” – to do this we need intentional quiet time in our lives. But first, we are reminded that we are dust, and that one day we will return to dust again.

So we receive the sign of death on our foreheads, but yet we are even more alive in Christ. This is the great mystery of our faith. We die with Christ on that cross, yet through that death we have life. The cross seems to be a crushing defeat, yet it is the symbol of victory now held high for all to see.

Today collect one bottle of laundry detergent (small bottle) and bring it to church on Sunday.

Pastor Dave