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Tag Archives: Sabbath

“Leave the Office Early Day” Prayer

02 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by mictori in Holidays, National Day Prayers, Pop

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#leavetheofficeearlyday, Leave the Office Early Day, Leave Work Early Day, Life, National Day Prayers, National Leave the Office Early Day, Sabbath

IMG_1353

God of all times and spaces, as this day wears on, give us the opportunity to leave the office early.

Divine one, this isn’t our chance to slack off or ditch work. We work hard in our off hours and through lunch breaks.

But give us a few extra minutes to trade in time at the office for laughs with our friends or hugs with our loved ones.

This hour is one for us to remember the sabbath, rest, chill out, take extra breaths, and practice a well-balanced life.

(And God, since it’s also National Donut Day, we’re going to enjoy some jelly-filled donut goodness today too.)

Amen.

*****

I’m experimenting with praying through the National Day Calendar. While some of the prayers will be fun, others will be much more serious. Is there a specific prayer you would like to see? Note below. Thanks!

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The Struggle with Grace and Impatience in Healing

26 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by mictori in Health, Pop

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Endometriosis, Grace, Healing, Health, Jesus, laparoscopy, Lazarus, progressive Christianity, Sabbath, Surgery, woman with hemorrhage

pexels-photo-27335.jpgFive days ago, I had surgery.

It was the third surgery like this one I’ve had: a laparoscopic operation to remove some of the endometriosis from my pelvis.  Three small incisions were made in my lower abdomen in an effort to get to scope and treat my inside pelvic region.

I never look forward to procedures, but by the time I’ve made the decision to have surgery, I’ve been suffering with pain.  While I’m still working, my life beyond work is minimal.  For someone who is an extrovert like I am, this is not living.

So I had the procedure.  All seemed to have gone well.  But each and every surgery brings worries along with it as well as knowledge of post-surgery living.

In the days following surgery, I’ve noticed a pattern.  The first couple of days, I’m extremely exhausted, and my body is in healing mode.  My days are filled with nap upon nap.  Then I’ll move into the next phase in which I know I’m feeling better.  I can’t do much physically as I’m still very sore.  My body yearns to heal but my spirit wishes I could be among the living again.  My extroverted self is being crushed by the mandatory rest period.

So, besides sleeping, here’s what I’ve done in the past few days:

  • Watched television
  • Watched Netflix
  • Watched HBO Go
  • Watched whatever is On Demand
  • Watched YouTube videos
  • Watched a video I rented from Amazon
  • Watched Jeopardy each night
  • Read many, many articles
  • Tweeted
  • Colored in my Lisa Frank coloring book.

I’ve done a little work here and there as well – from designing some social media posts to making a few phone calls.  Yet I’m exhausted both physically and mentally, so my energy comes in small waves.

I’m not the only young-ish person I know trying to recover from illness or injury.  Friends of mine have been placed on bed rest, and I have this notion that it hasn’t been too much fun for them to rest either. We are “jump into life with both feet” people, and this necessary time off is against our nature.

What we must be reminded of is that the healing process isn’t an overnight thing.  In scripture, we see Jesus healing, and all of a sudden his ailing followers are completely well.  Jesus didn’t ask them to spend a week in bed after he heals them.  Lazarus didn’t take additional time to rest after his resurrection.  The woman with the hemorrhage didn’t need a week to gain back her strength after touching the hem of Jesus.  Their healing was instantaneous.

My healing is not.

In real life, the way Jesus healed is not how realistic recovery works.  When God gives us healing, our responsibility is to rest and follow medical advice as part of the recovery process.

Let’s face it: instant gratification is a drug in our world.  We consider the rest time as a luxury and not a mandate.  When we realize that we can not escape a mandatory rest period with an illness, surgery, or injury, then we often feel guilty.  Our work has always taken top priority – why rest when we should be carrying a normal work load only days after a surgical procedure!

This is when the Sabbath commandment is crucial.  Sabbath is not only about building our relationship with God, but caring for the relationship with ourselves.  Our self-care is needed for us to heal properly so that we can follow God’s call for our lives and work diligently down the road.

I’m trying not to feel guilty about all of the naps I’ve taken in the past few days or zoning out as I color in my Lisa Frank coloring book or rewatching old episodes of Parks and Recreation for the billionth time.  God needs me to take this time right now to build my body as God will need me to work hard a few days and weeks down the road.

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Pokémon Go, Reloading and Sabbaths

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by mictori in Church Life, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Social Media

≈ 1 Comment

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Cincinnati, Colerain Township, Pokémon, Pokémon Go, PokéStop, progressive Christianity, Reloading, Remember the Sabbath, Sabbath, St. Paul UCC, St. Paul United Church of Christ

image

Apparently, our church is a Pokémon Go PokéStop.

What does this mean?  While I’m new to the game, I believe a PokéStop is a location where people can reload on supplies they need to capture the monsters.

My church, St. Paul United Church of Christ in Colerain Township, Cincinnati, is a PokéStop.  At first, I didn’t know this, and I’m not exactly sure how we became one.  After watching a few new people walking around our church building and then installing the app myself, I can indeed confirm that we are a PokéStop.

While church may not be a destination for younger people, PokéStops are.  So how can we merge virtual life and spiritual life into one location?

Remember the Sabbath.

Times and spaces to reload are important for all people.  Some choose faith communities.  Others choose sporting activities, arts or fellowship activities.  These are activities that give something back to our souls.

Church was already a PokéStop in the game of life.  It has been and should always be a place in which we can recharge our batteries and reload on spiritual energy for the new week.  Sometimes we get away from the idea that Sabbath is for reloading on spiritual fuel.  While we may come to church to give to God, we are also finding supplies for our soul.  God gave us the Sabbath for us to find renewal.  As Jesus says in Mark 2, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not the humankind for Sabbath.”

In our time of reloading, or Sabbath, may wee all see God a little clearer, each other with more love, and find spiritual supplies to help us manage life throughout the week.

 

 

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Losing Our Communal Sabbath This Thanksgiving

28 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion

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Black Friday, Brueggemann, Christmas, consumerism, Exodus 5, progressive Christianity, Sabbath, sales, Thanksgiving, Walter Brueggemann

I’m sickened by the number of corporations forcing their employees to work today.

Now, I understand that places with medication or gas need to be open for those in need. Some physicians, nurses, firefighters, EMTs, police and mechanics need to work for emergencies. I am grateful for their work. However, I’m not sure our society wants to forego rest and fellowship time to see how cheap we can buy TVs, shoes, various appliances and craft supplies.

Wasn’t that the purpose of post-Thanksgiving Friday (a.k.a. Black Friday – although I’m not entirely comfortable using that term)? Sure, it was odd that the day after Thanksgiving honored
the gods of consumerism. Now that day has crept into the time-slot of Thanksgiving itself. Employees on the bottom of the consumerist food chain have to choose between having a job and spending time with their families.

To me, Thanksgiving (and even Christmas) is time of communal Sabbath. No matter what your nationality or belief structures, no matter how lofty your wealth or the color of your skin, we all had these days off together – to relax and enjoy simplicity.

Back in the day, Sundays were communal Sabbaths. Now, Sundays are the beginning of the consumerism week as we hunt through papers to see what great deals we can find at stores.

When I was a child visiting my grandparents in Canada for Christmas, all stores would be closed on December 26 for Boxing Day, an additional Sabbath and time for loved ones. As I grew older, this day turned into the Americanized December 26: filled malls and widespread sales.

To think we are losing any aspect of a communal Sabbath is heartbreaking. On previous Thanksgivings, most of us have the day off. Now, those who are paid the least are forced to work while the more wealthy of us can chose between resting and shopping.

A number of times, I’ve heard theologian Walter Brueggemann speak about Sabbath as a break from consumerism. He quotes the story in Exodus 5 of Moses asking Pharaoh for a day for the Israelites to have a break from their work so they can honor God together. Of course, Pharaoh then gave the Israelites more work and tougher working conditions because of this request.

The Pharaohs of our consumerist culture are requiring more and more workers to give up our communal Sabbaths. Next year, will stores start their sales at 6pm or 3pm on Thanksgiving? Will Thanksgiving become the new Consumerist Day of the Year? And why must these fall on the backs of the non-rich in our society while the wealthy make their money from those sacrificing their Sabbath day?

Let’s skip the stores as much as we can today….

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Ferris Bueller remembers the Sabbath

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by mictori in Movies, Pop

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bueller, Ferris, Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Jesus, John Hughes, Sabbath

Torigian… Torigian…

Well, of course I’m here!

I was the youth with semesters of perfect attendance and involved in MANY after-school activities.  I wouldn’t be the student wanting to take the day off to head to the Cardinals game, head to the Hill for lunch or traipse around the St. Louis Art Museum in an effort to skip history class.  In fact, opportunities for Sabbath seemed slim since I was involved in so many activities.

Now that I’m getting to the age where I could easily be a parent of a high school student, I have begun to look at Ferris Bueller as the slacker kid that decides to skip school one last day before high school graduation.  Could I be more judgmental and more wrong?

Maybe Ferris just needed the day off because he needed some “self-care”.  Would Jesus take a day off for some self-care?  Scripture shows that Jesus needed to get away from the enthusiastic crowds for some “chill” time.  He didn’t work every hour of every day.  Granted, we don’t see him riding on a float in a parade, but we do see him riding on a donkey in a parade…

If you were to stop and create a fun and relaxing day off, what would your true Sabbath look like?  Would you take a road trip to Chicago to catch a ballgame or ride a float in a parade?  Would you walk in a park, see a matinee or just go home to take a nap?

“Life moves pretty fast… If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Sabbath gives us each a chance to see the details of life.  When we stop to see the small moments, we see God much clearer.  Could Ferris experience the presence of God while singing to thousands in downtown Chicago?  Could Ferris experience God’s presence while staring at the works of art? Maybe “playing hookey” isn’t the most ethical way to spend time.   However, remembering to take time to rest, spend with friends, value our lives and look for God is needed.  When our work swallows any Sabbath and any chance to relax, it could be time to reevaluate our lives and our schedules.

While I’m only taking days off when I’m actually sick or scheduled a vacation, sometimes, it’s worth taking ten minutes, twenty minutes or an hour to take a walk, get a cup of coffee or drive through a park.  Maybe that super-short Sabbath will shine a stronger light on God’s presence.  Maybe we will refocus our minds to discern God’s call with more clarity.

Or maybe we will just cherish life a little more…  just like Ferris…

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