Dear St. Paul’s Family,
How noisy is your life?
Bernie Krause is a noted “soundscape artist”. That is, he produces albums of sounds found in nature. He has said that in 1968, in order to get 1 hour of natural sound - no cars, planes, or machines of any kind - it took about 15 hours of recording time. Today, to get that same hour of natural sound, it requires over 2,000 hours of recording time!*
We are bombarded by the sounds of a noisy world, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to escape it. But this is nothing compared to the noise within us. If it were possible, at this moment, to make a soundscape recording of your mind and your soul, how long would it take to record an hour of mental and emotional quiet? Probably even longer than 2,000 hours! We hear the constant drone of deadlines. We sense the thunderous booms of anxieties and fears, and the heavy pulsing of pressures, agendas, and to-do lists.
Over and against this backdrop of noise, the scriptures call us to observe a command rooted in the earliest days of creation:
“So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:9-10)
Wayne Muller, in his classic book: Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest and Delight, offers this poignant reminder to live a life shaped by intentional spiritual rest:
"Like a path through the forest, Sabbath creates a marker for ourselves so, if we are lost, we can find our way back to our center. 'Remember the Sabbath' means 'Remember that everything you have received is a blessing. Remember to delight in your life, in the fruits of your labor. Remember to stop and offer thanks for the wonder of it.' Remember, as if we would forget. Indeed, the assumption is that we will forget. And history has proven that, given enough time, we will.
What might it mean for you to recapture this ancient practice of renewal and re-creation?
- It could mean going away on a silent prayer retreat, for a day or for a weekend. No cell phones, no laptops, and no talking.
- It could mean deciding to go without television every day for a whole week, using time normally spent watching television in the quiet of one’s house or the outdoors.
- It could mean simply carving out a fixed amount of time each day – 30 minutes, or an hour or more – to intentionally retreat, listen for God, and be quiet.
One of the foremost authorities on Spiritual Disciplines, Richard Foster, suggests that homeowners actually build into their home plans a specific room for solitude. Just like there are designated rooms for eating, sleeping, and entertaining, he suggests creating a space that offers a place of uninterrupted silence. In lieu of a whole room, the family may have a designated chair or sofa where the person is not to be interrupted.
Living Sabbath requires intentionality, and it need not be exclusively defined by an hour at church on Sunday morning. Rest, renewal, and re-connection with God ought to happen regularly, without fail.
GUEST PREACHER THIS SUNDAY
Our family will be out of town for a brief vacation this weekend. It will be a chance for us to see other sites in Iowa and give me a breather before this fall’s stewardship series and advent season. We will be leaving Thursday night and will be back in town late Sunday.
We are pleased to have the Rev. Ray Krugar as our guest preacher this Sunday morning. He is a long-time resident of Cherokee and a retired Presbyterian minister who has served for 49 years. His sermon will be based on Psalm 119:97-104 and 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 and will focus on foundations of the Christian faith. We are grateful for his word this Sunday.
You deserve a break today! For God’s sake!
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
*Rob Bell, Nooma “Noise”, Zondervan, 2005.
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