Sabbath: Parishioner Reflections on the Jubilee

...provides us the time to know and be known by God...

Behold the information age - actually, the age of overinformation. We can be found wherever we are by cell phone, pager, courier or satellite, and we can find out the latest information on most anything instantly: stocks, world news, family events a world away. Amazing? Yes. Mind-boggling? Certainly. Life-robbing? Perhaps.

When do we stop to consider who we are and what we are doing with our lives? Every now and then? When a crisis forces our hand? Consider the example God lays before us. As creator, He rested on the seventh day to contemplate all He had done and declared it good. As God Incarnate, Jesus regularly drew away by himself to be alone and to pray. If they, the creators, saw fit to set aside time to take stock of life, how much more do we, the created, also need time to ponder and refresh?

Not that I’ve got the contemplation market cornered, mind you! I struggle with all the distractions of our modern culture. But, more often than not, I aim to turn off the TV, the radio, the computer, the phone and simply "be" in the midst of this miracle called life. I breathe deeply and listen to the breeze and the birds right here in the middle of suburbia, pet my dog, and fully appreciate being alive. I try not to be so busy planning and organizing my life that I forget to actually live it.

God wants us to know Him, not just know of Him. Knowing someone can only occur over time. Keeping the Sabbath - whether it be on Sunday or some other day of the week - provides us the time to know and be known by God, apart from the demands of daily life. This side of the pearly gates there is no greater blessing. Dare to be still...

Prayer:
Dear Lord, Inspire us to take time with you.

Giselle Dupuis

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