Sabbath Timing...

Just recently, Jan, Kaitlyn, Braedon and I were invited to attend a Bat-Mitzvah for the daughter of a friend of ours in Girl Scouting. The young lady was the first to celebrate this coming of age ritual in their new congregation. (It was a milestone for more than one reason!) It was held on a Saturday evening, thus ending the Sabbath. (Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and extends to sundown on Saturday.)

She and her mother had planned the service from the very beginning in consultation with their Rabbi, and the worship service was wonderful! While much of it was sung in the ancient language of the Hebrews, there were translations in English and Aramaic. Still, it was an impressive service, and throughout it all, I could definitely sense that we were worshiping God, and celebrating the faith of this young woman.

The conclusion of the service seemed to be the most memorable for me, for it was the tradition of the congregation to end Sabbath with a special service of lights, the breaking of bread, and the sharing of wine. The congregation stood in a circle around the Rabbi and this young lady as she would celebrate her first Sabbath as an adult.

But what was most memorable was a few brief comments made by the Rabbi. He said, (and here I paraphrase from memory!) "Friends, we have gathered together to honor God and to remember what Sabbath means. For twenty-five hours we step aside from the busyness of the world, and we focus our lives on God." It struck me: twenty-five hours. Twenty four hours for Sabbath time as a family, and then one hour to conclude that time as a community.

How often do we give God that kind of commitment in our daily lives? How often do we stop - I mean completely stop - what we're doing and focus our entire lives on God? How often do we step away from the busyness of our worlds - from work, from chores, from school, from hobbies, from tasks and to-do lists, from ... How often?

Jesus came to his disciples after a long night of being in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and asked them, "Could you not keep awake for one hour?" (Mark 14:37b)'' One hour. It seems such a short time...

Lord, help me to not only stay awake, but to stay focused on you for more than one hour. Amen.