Sabbath

What do we think about the concept of Sabbath and how do we apply it today as Christians? To a boy that grew up in a defined Seventh-Day Adventist culture, I think of sun-down Friday night to sun-down Saturday night ceasing. The command was to cease from all activity that is not for the benefit of spiritual renewal. Growing up in a SDA culture instilled in me specific memories of how this can be applied in nature walks, Bible study, naps, visits to the lonely, potluck lunches within community to end with sun-down vespers on the beach. This was my first memories of “Sabbath’s sacred space and time.” Even though some of SDA’s applications and theology was rejected, as an adult the Sabbath has stayed as a piece to the foundation for developing my Christian identity.

Now as a Catholic, we recognize this Christian truth has always remained in the Church and has always called to rest in the fight against our human tendency for self-absorption. If God believes it was essential in “the perfect garden,” how much more needed in “the sin desert?” Tools for holiness become that more essential to free from the decaying presence of sin to freshen an opening to God’s graceful relationship and rest. Maybe just maybe, the things we think that are important today are not that important for today? Sabbath helps us align with God’s priorities, moving us from our own, when misdirected, calling to us to redeem and reawaken to the potential of sacred rest for our souls.

The soul in Sabbath should become increasingly more attracted to the concept of Christian “divinization;” where man has the ability to become more like the divine that has made him. The kicker here is that with the freedom given to embrace is also the ability not to embrace what has made him, to embrace everything else that is weaker. The Sabbath is moment placed after moment to stop man in his tracts, to see his great potential for Christ-centered divinization now. Sabbath calls him to conversation with God and away from what weakness has been embraced that does not allow true rest. His conversation now teaches faithful ceasing that will produce very soon faithful action. In the Sabbath is God’s tool that teaches man to rest and trust by allowing man to more fully observe Him at work.

To Sea and Sword

Every analogy is limited, recognizing the restrictions with comparison; the soul can resemble a ship built for sea. Both passage and docking are needed if a ship is to be a ship. The Christian soul entering God is similar to a boat’s voyage and entering new harbor that often is not what it seems. Once through this narrow port of Christ rests a greater body of water, continuing into an ever increasing expansion, just beyond His interior. What joy when first discovered! The soul sails effortlessly within this water of God, just off His pier, like a boy skimming the surface in a sailboat with his father. Soon this preparation is made use within in mysticism or/and the world of evangelization, but always putting out deeper into the sea, into the wind, to return time and again.

If one wishes only harmony in Christian life, they have navigated into a nightmare. The Christian professes a Savior that was crucified by His own creation. Some of our Lord’s last words on this earth were “Father, why have you forsaken me?” This is hardly a faith that does not experience distress where we thought harbor. Logic and theology give glimpses, but the mystical reality of Christian belief is fully revealed within suffering. Suffering exposes motive, ability, and the soul’s tolerance for Light. With this said, God has not given His children to a masochistic longing for adversity, but knowing hardship fully, has given His children the capacity to live life in the midst, not numbed by waves of incident and bitter cold. Sometimes He awakes to calm waves, sometimes His children as the ship threatens to breaks up to go down.

Our Father continues to urge the soul to continue the journey into the deep, and then return back to the harbor, for there are no shortcuts for a soul nor seaman. Jesus said, “I have come to give you life and have it abundantly,” yet He is also our model for crucifixion. The Christian mystery is that the disciple can not live his existence, to its abundance honestly, without negotiating its waves. Without waves one rarely awakes to the need and power of God that can move beyond storms. One can train near the pier, but it is another thing all together in the swells with no land in sight. Of course, God’s “quite still voice” is not limited to storm, being heard on the return home near the hearth. However, in the storm attention is alerted, reminding again what is at stake, building the disciple’s skill to sense a present God.

Author, J.R.R. Tolkien envisioned in his The Lord of the Rings a superb instance of a noble fellowship that learned why the journey had to occur; the Shire and Middle Earth were worth the fight. They came to appreciate the simple joys of beer, pipe and salted pork with friends and the trivialness that things can become for those that have not put to sea and sword. Christians must experience the sea to maintain sea worthy, to continue spiritual relevance, for once not used for sea become museums for shipping or firewood. With other vessels looking for True port, our sails need to be present, seen on the horizon, until Light can be made to the shoreline.

Mary’s Yes

What does it mean to be fully human? This is one of the great answers we as humans seek or at lease should be. To the Christian, in this search, the great number of scholars and artists in this tradition stop to reflect on a little Jewish maiden as the model. After reflection, the Incarnation of God through Mary, Jesus’ mother is defiantly unique, differing from other religions. The human is confronted and incorporated by God in a very extraordinary way. This overwhelming belief is the basis for many dusty books in a seminary’s library. They were written from generation after generations encounter with arch angels, a miracle baby, blood, cross, tragedy and triumph. God got human with humanity, born and breathing life across the pages of our story.

God chose to continue relationship with humanity not exclusively “over there” as in the Temple, but also setting up Temple within humanity with Mary’s affirmative reaction to God paving way. This is why the Catholic/Orthodox views Mary, Jesus’ mother as the ideal example of how to allow God, the Holy Spirit within us. For the Catholic/Orthodox, God’s redemption story can not be alienated from Mary’s reply. God chose to enter the human family through her, “the first Christian,” who is activity teaching Christians that follow how to connect and relate to God within.

There are three major theological points here that Christians profess: (1) God initiated (2) Mary did allow God within and (3) God did enter Mary. God is not an ogre, His character revealed an insistence on Mary’s ‘Yes’ before He brought forth His Son. God rose up and entered a “New Eve” to pave way for a “New Adam.” Humanity would never be the same.

This Catholic/Orthodox concept of how God prepared and utilized Mary has always had less to do with Mary, than what God has done through His Son. Mary, the humblest creature would insist on this. It should also be said, that it is hard to ovoid her affirmative and submissive reaction to God’s initiative action within the plan for human salvation. The focus always is on God when Elizabeth professes of Mary “blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Thus, Mary becomes the most dramatic example of what we do now influences generations to come. “Mary, the Mother of God” was given the opportunity to give birth to God’s humanity, because prior God paved way in allowing her to miraculously possess “Yes” to God.

What it means to be fully human from the Christian point of view is this co-operation with God. God creating humanity in the Image and Likeness of Himself has resulted in our true self being revealed within the Divine. This is why Christianity is the most positive of faiths, for we are continually participating in the renewal of a response to Love, the Almighty that initiates. This is a painful process as our hearts lean towards sin but pray to learn again the divine language of “Yes.” It is painful, but always produces the fullest human revealing our real home within God’s heart.