Sabbath Resistance

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Some will remember the movie, “Chariots of Fire” about the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. One of the runners for Great Britain, Eric Liddell was a devote Presbyterian from Scotland and when he was informed that his first heat for the 100 yard dash was on Sunday he refused to run. At the time I thought he was foolish, even selfish; he let down his team. Now we have soccer on Sunday mornings and I wonder, is anything sacred?

At times strange coincidences occur that leave me scratching my head, wondering whether this involves the Holy Spirit. A few weeks ago in our Wednesday Study we viewed an interview of Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann. Subsequently I mentioned part of that interview in my sermon on October 19th. Then I was casing the new books at the library and I ran into a small volume that Brueggemann wrote recently (less than 100 pages) entitled, Sabbath as Resistance: Saying NO to the Culture of Now. The title caught my attention because I usually think of Sabbath as rest and I admonish people that we all need rest. Sabbath is also time to spend alone with God. But Sabbath as resistance? When is comes to soccer on Sunday mornings I feel it!

Sabbath is not only resistance. It is alternative. It is an alternative to the demanding, chattering, pervasive presence of advertising and its great liturgical claim of professional sports that devour all our “rest” time.

The alternative on offer is the awareness and practice of the claim that we are situated on the receiving end of the gifts of God.

For Brueggamann taking time for Sabbath is not just a healthy choice, it has an ethical component; it is saying NO to what he calls the Culture of Now. He identifies four ways that this NO happens: resistance to anxiety, coercion, exclusion and multitasking. My favorite of these is multitasking. I am one of those who believe that multitasking is impossible; the mind cannot focus on more than one thing at a time and switches back and forth. When this happens quickly we call it multitasking. For Brueggeman, Sabbath would mean resisting the temptation to be doing many things at once even if we are taking the day off on Sunday. And this is where it gets rough – I believe Brueggaman would say that because Sabbath as resistance means to disengage from any activity that it connected to advertising, competition, shopping or entertainment. This is more than resisting soccer on Sundays. I think he would say that to really have a Sabbath that is rest we would need to put away our cell phones for a day – for the rest, but also as a way to disengage from the whole world of commercialism. It is to say NO to this world in order to reconnect to God’s world.

The departure from (this) system in our time is not geographical. It is rather emotional, liturgical, and economic. It is not an idea but a practical act… (it is) an act of submission to the restful God… divestment so that neighborly engagement, rather than production and consumption, defines our lives.

There are times when I wish I lived in the world of Eric Liddell. On the one hand it feels strict and oppressive, but on the other hand when I imagine a whole day disconnected from the world of winning and losing, of production and commerce, of information and to do lists, I feel like it would be very healing. It will not happen… easily, at least, but maybe in baby steps? And not just for myself but also for the world. P.Jim

Stewardship: Why Give to Cedar Cross?

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We have begun our annual Stewardship program.  Each year at this time we focus on our giving, and we ask all to fill out a pledge card (estimation of giving in the coming year) so we can formulate a budget and plan for the future.  That’s the practical side of it but it is much more than that.

This year we will be using a program entitled “Treasure” which is based on the sixth chapter of Matthew, the root verse being v.21: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  It is also a special time (kairos time) spiritually too.  In my sermons I will not talk about giving money; I will talk about money but in the context of our relationship to God.  Jesus talked about money, but always in the context of our relationship with God.  Asking about our “treasure” invokes mention of money but in a spiritual sense – what is ultimately important to us.  For stewardship to be meaningful and also successful it must connect to that question.  If we ask, why give to CCUMC it too must be asked as a spiritual question.

Being a part of a church is different than belonging to any other group or institution in our world.  Instead of simply participating, we belong.  As we belong the congregation becomes our spiritual home.  Ideally, in addition to the family, the church becomes a part of our identity and purpose.  As such, it is where we grow and develop our selves, ask the deepest questions of our lives, and nurture our souls.  John Wesley’s famous question given to the early leaders of bands and societies (small groups) was, “How is your heart today?”  I believe we do this in many ways at Cedar Cross UMC.  I also believe that there are many people in our surrounding community who need a place like this in their lives – and often they don’t know it.  A fundamental part of our mission is to reach out to people, not to convince them to believe as we do, but to invite them into this community of faithful people so that their lives may be transformed and as we come to know them our lives will be transformed as well.  As long as I have been involved in the church I cannot imagine life without it.

Being a part of a United Methodist Church means that we are connected with other UM churches all over the world.  We are known as a “connectional” church – at the opposite end would be an independent, non-denominational, sometimes called “community” churches.  Connection is at the heart of who we are – in our families, within the fellowship at Cedar Cross, and then with other churches.  It is as a connectional church that we are able to be in ministry all over the world.  Our aim is to be larger than ourselves – to be in mission in our immediate community, and then as we work together in communities outside our immediate area.  Locally, we participate in Teen Feed and the local VOA Food Bank.  Regionally, we are connected to the ministry of institutions like the Atlantic Street Center in the Rainier Valley area of Seattle which provides services to disadvantaged children and youth.  Through our Annual Conference, our youth are able to attend events (retreats, camps, Convocation) that become a valuable part of their spiritual development.  And we are connected to ministries all over the world.  We are in Haiti and Nepal, Congo and the Philippines.  And through the United Methodist Committee on Relief when a disaster occurs in the world we are there – sometimes faster than the government!  I feel proud of the missional focus of our denomination and Cedar Cross.

Finally, and more specifically regarding Cedar Cross, this is simply a great church!  It is full of amazing people who exude a spirit of acceptance and grace.  The Spirit is surely alive here!  We have become a Reconciling Congregation, fully accepting LGBT persons into the life of our Church, thus truly living out our denomination’s motto, Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors.  We are growing, both spiritually and numerically (the District Superintendent and Bishop are particularly happy about this).  Being a part of this Church nurtures our souls and our families, provides a platform for global ministry in the world, and it’s fun to be here.

What more could anyone want?  P.Jim