A Soul Seeing…SABBATH

 “I discovered the Sabbath isn’t about what is done or left undone as much as breathing the goodness of God. The more I inhaled, the more I desired another long breath.”

Margaret Feinberg

 

A Soul Seeing…SABBATH

 

We embark upon another season of exploration through the blog entitled “A Soul Seeking.” The last series of posts reflected on the role of soteriology…remember?!… the doctrine of salvation.

 

We explored the roles that both God and humanity play in moving through the spiritual formation process that results in holiness and happiness through an eternal relationship with the Triune God lived out in community with the people of God. 

 

This leg of our journey will lead us further into a deeper understanding of this eternal and communal relationship. However, instead of fulfilling our role through actively participating in the means of grace… we will forsake activity. 

 

We will cease from seeking results and measuring growth.

 

We will relinquish our roles in the dance of doing, going, and proving.

 

We will instead…

 

REST.

 

We will instead seek what is called…SABBATH.

 

But the qualifying and vital concept to understand is that we don’t seek and find SABBATH.

That would defeat the intent of and oppose the nature of Sabbath.

 

We simply see, receive, and embrace SABBATH.

 

We SEE Sabbath…

 

As we learn to love and delight in the goodness and beauty of what God has made, our experience of Sabbath unlocks the meaning and significance of the creation one with.

 

We RECEIVE Sabbath…

 

For Sabbath is a freely given gift that is from the heart of God delivered into the lives of all creation as often as we need it and choose it. Sabbath is a gift to community and an exercise of a communion- it is always in relationship with ourselves, our community, and the Creator.

 

So as our souls…our immortal and immaterial natures…

SEE

                        RECEIVE

 

…and EMBRACE Sabbath.

 

Let us consider the role that Sabbath plays in our personal transformation and collective formation into WELL and WHOLE BEINGS. Sabbath provides a reprieve from “construction” in the world in order to consciously consider our soul’s formation.

 

But why do we need reprieve?

 

Because humanity continually fails to follow the instructions of God and the example of Christ.

 

We fail to…

·      ACCEPT the limitations of our capacity

·      YIELD to the call to surrender to our frailty and weakness

·      HEED the sirens signaling depletion, deprivation, and death that cry out from the earth and its inhabitants.

 

And as a result humanity is burned out and the earth is worn out!

 

But there is a sound of HOPE & HEALING…

 

The sound calls from Heaven and reverberates within the soul of Humanity… creating a rhythmic pause and pace that cultivates a new resurrected life for all creation. 

 

This rhythm guides us back to the Creator where through Sabbath we remember…

WHO WE ARE

&

WHO GOD IS

 

The journey back to God through Sabbath renews our humanity, restores our purpose & redeems our relationship with creation and the Creator.

 

“Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return.”

Thomas Kelly