Dear Members and Friends,
If you check, you'll find that the Commandment stipulating Sabbath rest is the longest in the Decalogue. This emphasis in length says as much about us and our tendencies as it does about God and his will.
With the great relaxation of the old "blue laws" constricting Sunday commerce, we are now free to shop and spend twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Certainly this is a positive opportunity on those occasions when we've forgotten a certain item for the family bar-b-que or the gas has run out on the grill. But I wonder if we've adequately stopped to consider the reality that in order for some people to be able to buy, others have to be present in the store to stock and sell. So even with all the extra money to be made on the Sabbath, I wonder, have we ever truly counted the additional cost?
These last few weeks in worship I've seen some of the most inspiring things ever in two decades of pastoral ministry. In my view, each of these events perfectly encapsulated and articulated what the spirit of the Sabbath is all about.
First off, exercising our Baptist freedom, we had our young people presiding over the elements of the Lord's Supper. The following week on Pentecost, folks from our congregation enabled us to worship in six different languages. Then on Father's Day we repackaged the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the form of a live radio play, after which several in our midst went on from the pews to successfully run in the five-mile Branford Road Race! Individually and combined, these events and experiences all speak volumes about our potential to make Sunday a joyful expression of being God's children - appreciating who we are, and more importantly, Whose we are.
As our summer continues to unfold, apart from the important things we do to put bread on the table, let's be active in pursuing the kinds of things that put life in our souls. Let us be determined to find the kind of respite that acknowledges that we are gifts of God and not merely assets of a corporation. As mindful as we are that work must be done, may we also realize and demonstrate the fact that a healthy path of discipleship intentionally takes a detour out of the daily grind.
Unfortunately, without the Sabbath restrictions that guided prior generations, our society has forgotten what it is to stop and find rest. Perhaps then there is no better time than right now for us to give witness to the truth that acting on the grace of God is about innovating in the sanctuary and recreating in the world - not just another chance to stand on line at a check-out counter.
From Reverend William J. Keane,
Senior Minister of First Baptist Church of Branford
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