Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

Isaiah 56:1-8 (NRSV)

Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.

Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.

Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the LORD:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.

And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

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Reflect

Speaking of honoring the Sabbath in the middle of the week seems strange. However, in these words from Isaiah, God repeatedly underscores the centrality of keeping/honoring the Sabbath among all of those who want to be a part of God’s people. Keeping the Sabbath ranks up there with doing what is right and pleasing to God.

To speak of the significance of honoring the Sabbath in the middle of our rushing from one activity to another seems even stranger. Every day blurs into another one of busy-ness and work. Weekends have disappeared between efforts to make a living and getting our children/grandchildren to yet one more activity, game, or practice.

In today’s mad rush, Isaiah’s words stop us in our tracks. Is whatever we are doing more important than God?? After all, the Creator of the universe rested as a part of creating the whole world and, according to Isaiah, feels very strongly about God’s people resting also!

Although we may work weekends, we can keep a day of rest at another time during the week. How? With prayer and worship, with non-competitive play and leisure, acts of mercy, studying God’s Word, and resting. Mainly, we remember who God is and care for what God has created, always with an eye toward reconciliation.

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Pray

Help us, God, in the crazy rush of today’s living to learn the necessity of being still and knowing that you are God. Remind us of the centrality of Sabbath—whenever it is—and help us to learn once more to enjoy you through our worship and prayer, in our play and rest, with our study and acts of kindness, reconciliation, and caring for your glorious creation. Through the grace of your Son we pray. Amen.

Go with God.