This past week I went to a Sabbath Keeping seminar up at the seminary. The facilitator/speaker was Wayne Muller, who has written several books on the subject, and others. There were about 40 of us in a giant circle and he ran it as a discussion. He's a very thoughtful man...and in keeping with the topic, kinda went with the flow.
Two main things I came away with are
1. Its a COMMANDMENT and
2. Give God and the holy spirit a full 24 hours to do their magic, without you. "Who do you think you are?"
There were several folks who had been attending a week-long retreat/seminar with him as well as a Lilly Project on Sabbath Keeping and they spoke as a panel about their experience with Sabbath Keeping in their own lives as pastors. Its a struggle. There are lots of things I could talk about here, but let me share Mr. Muller's thoughts on Meetings, because its unusual and kinda funny and it shouldn't be.
He likes everyone to introduce themselves. If you are late, he understands, but you must introduce yourself and be filled in on whats happened until you got there. In most meetings, you slip in and try to get your neighbor to catch you up, but here the leader of the group welcomes you as a part of the group and tells you where you are. A very welcoming but somewhat uncomfortable experience. Do you know why you feel uncomfortable? Because for years you've been frowned at for being late and interrupting the on-going meeting, but in this discussion you are welcomed into the group.
If you have to leave, do not try to sneak out! He wants you to be properly thanked for your presence and for being a part of the group. I'm paraphrasing (of course), but in too many situaions people think they can slip in and slip out and never really be a part of the group. His actions are to honor that you are a member of the group, of the discussion and that the group will now be different because you are gone.
So thought-provoking.
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