Sometimes [often] stuff the lord lays on my heart sits there....& sits there. There needs to be a shift in my thinking before I can move forward. It is like that with the Sabbath.
I can get hooked on technicalities. They really bug me & Sunday is one of those things because dance around it all you like Sunday is not the Sabbath & the whole shift from Saturday to Sunday worship was instigated by the Catholic church for their own purposes ~ which is all well & good & I am not saying Sunday worship is bad or wrong; just it's not the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the seventh day. Sunday is the first.
I got here years ago but if you want to worship with others you are pretty much tied to what the majority believe/practise/impose & so jiggity~jog, I trotted along with the rest but bugged because why were we doing this? Besides Dearest had no problem with Sunday worship ~ which brings me to the other thing: mostly, not always but mostly, I arrive somewhere in the spiritual realms waaay before the men in my life decide I might actually have point & deign to join me!
Last time I can remember blogging about the Sabbath I was still pretty much beating a one~woman drum. No~one, & I mean no~one, else in my house was interested. That has been gradually changing & so I have been studying again because I can't emphasis enough this is not about being legalistic ~ or Jewish [because we're not!] ~ or anything at all except getting New Testament insights from Old Testament scriptures. It's about knowing God better. About understanding what goes on in the heart of God.
One of the things I have learnt from all this is that the Jews are incredibly smart. Did you know that if you add sugar to the amniotic fluid a baby sucks faster? So Jewish teaching, as they get if from God, is always sweet. Scratching your heads yet? I have yet to run into a Jewish festival that does not revolve around having a wow of a time! Good food. Good company. Family. Friends. Party games. Music. Things are structured to build anticipation & suspense. This has been coming home strongly this week because I have been on the mainland so much & eating sparingly because of all the sitting around. I have made healthy choices: apples, grapes, water, nut bars. I got up this morning craving a Snickers ~ all that caramel, nuts & chocolate for breakfast. If I could have got my hands on one that's what I would have had! Luckily for me the shops were not yet open!
Since my fast I have found my almost insatiable craving for sweet things greatly reduced & I want to keep it that way! But celebrations are not times to deprive ourselves of treats & so in thinking about & planning a Sabbath celebration I know that once a week I can indulge that sweet tooth of mine! You have no idea how much more that is making me appreciate the Sabbath!!! Oh yeah, baby!
There are other things that speak deeply to my heart. The Sabbath is rooted in the family ~ & it is pretty much the only festival where a woman is nominated to lead. There is lots about the symbolism & the circular motion of the Sabbath ritual I want to discuss but I will save that for another time. What I am amazed by is the shift in my thinking from such small beginnings. I sense the work of the Holy Spirit sifting through my thoughts because His is the work of pointing us always towards Jesus & this is how my thoughts are turning. In my head I am planning our Sabbath while I wait at college for Dino to be done for the day. I am thinking how every Saturday evening Jesus too would have come in at the close of his day, washed, changed his clothing, waited for Mary to light the candles & pronounce the blessing to eat & drink to the glory of God. Joseph would have blessed the children round his table one by one. They would have read the familiar scriptures...& because I am first & foremost a student of literature the symbols come tumbling through my head, each one rich with layers of meaning, going down deep into the things of God & gratitude wells up. I am always profoundly moved at how even small steps in obedience & faith reap such marvellous rewards. My carnal nature is on Raspberry Pots....
1 comment:
I agree with you that I would rather celebrate the Sabbath on the appointed day, but lately I have been led to examine what is the Sabbath in the heart. Perhaps the purpose is more important than the day of the week, or perhaps the day is part of the importance of the purpose.
For now, the Lord has me seeking other things along the path, but I appreciate your thoughts on this and I still hope to observe the Jewish celebrations when the Princess is a bit older.
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