Thats My Fun Day Aug 25 2019 Isaiah 58

THAT’S MY FUN DAY UNION HILL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF DENVILLE AUGUST 25, 2019 ISAIAH 58: 9B-14 Several months ago, I was waiting for an elevator somewHere and music was playing in the background. THe song was “Eternal Flame,” one of the biggest Hits from the 1980s all girl pop group THe Bangles. Waiting for that elevator was a lady wHo, ever so faintly, was singing along. Surprise!: Your pastor never learned not to talk to strangers. WHen the doors opened and we got on the elevator, I observed, “You were singing along. WHy did you stop?” PerHaps embarrassed at Having been Heard, sHe quickly replied, “OH, no, I wasn’t singing.” “UH, yes you were. Eternal Flame by the Bangles. 80s classic.” “No, really, I wasn’t,” sHe insisted. Nice voice. Maybe not Susanna Hoffs, but good enougH for the elevator. Like Peter in the courtyard, sHe was determined to deny singing at least until the cock crowed. THere is no sHame in enjoying THe Bangles’ music. I mean, it’s not like I caugHt Her as sHe decided to “Walk Like an Egyptian.” Still, the sound of the song reminded me of Having Had a group poster on my wall at college, and appreciating another band that used Rickenbacker guitars, singing they were “going down to Liverpool to do nothing.” THeir other most popular song of the time was “Manic Monday,” the lament of being too busy, running late, and Having one thing after another someHow go wrong. Maybe I liked it because it seemed to give voice to my conviction that life was one long socially awkward moment someHow spread out over time by God! For all the angst of the work-week stress, the cHorus Heralded the longed-for utopian alternative: Just another Manic Monday; wish it were Sunday: That’s my fun day. I don’t have to run day. But it’s just another Manic Monday. You may be curious as to wHy I am sHaring with you this seemingly random elevator conversation with a stranger, and the saunter down Memory Lane it inspired. Today’s readings from Isaiah and Luke invite – and challenge - us to examine how it is we perceive, observe, and keep the sabbath, the Lord’s Day. Looking more closely, Isaiah provides a series of IF-THEN statements to instruct the people, and us, about wHat God expects from us. Recalling How important context is, we do well to remember Isaiah’s words were being delivered to God’s people preparing to return to the Land of Israel from exile. Having been banisHed from their Holy Place, observing the Sabbath by necessity became Honoring the Holy Time wHile the people were away from home. Once they returned, the people would need Healing in spiritual and practical terms. THat’s wHy Isaiah stresses rebuilding, repairing, and restoring. At a moment wHen they would need to focus on the obedience to God that marked their identity, the matter of determining wHo was variously “in” or “out” was claiming mucH of their attention. THis was the set of circumstances into wHicH Isaiah’s message came. A people on edge: a mix of exHaustion and anticipation. Some wHo Had desperately latcHed onto tradition as sustaining in the midst of national crisis; others wondering wHat that tradition said to the reality of their complicated and uncertain present day. WHile, of course, we know the JewisH sabbath to begin at sundown Friday nigHt into Saturday, we can extrapolate this to the CHristian view of Sabbath. I wish it were Sunday. That’s my fun day. I don’t have to run day WHat is it that Isaiah warns? THe yoke among you? WHat is that? THat would be our obligation to do our part to correct injustice, to intervene to relieve people of unfair burdens. THe “pointing of the finger”? Could Israel resist being judgmental, arrogant, insulting or mocking? Can we? Look at the brigHtness God promises througH Isaiah in the next verse! A HigHligHt of my week was seeing and sensing the ligHt emanating from Evelyn after feeding the Hungry in Dover on THursday! Plenty of food was served, yes, but that is but part of the story: seeing the people come back up to Evelyn to say thank you, knowing they would be greeted at the counter with a smile. THat was as nourisHing to their souls as the meal to their bodies! Maybe THursday was my Fun Day! Finally, Isaiah names the sabbath: the sacred, Holy day to worsHip God. MucH as Jesus found, mucH as the debate rages today, Isaiah was confronted with navigating the divide between perceiving of the sabbath as a day of complete rest or a time of active worsHipful practice. WHicH is it? What Isaiah preached, what Jesus taught, is that there is nothing incongruent, nothing in conflict with honoring God AND acting for justice on behalf of others. THe day of rest does not mean merely lounging on the coucH, turning off our cell pHones. To Isaiah, to Jesus, keeping the day Holy means DOING something that liberates people from obstacles that may be impeding their experiencing the fullness of life, even if the obstacle turns out to be…our own doing. Some translations caution against “traveling” on the sabbath. Others speak of placing a “foot” on the sabbath. Our translation is blunt: “refrain from trampling the sabbath.” Recall wHen Scripture, especially the Hebrew, repeats words, the purpose is to make clear the significance of the idea. Your own interests…your own ways… your own interests…your own affairs. Sometimes, we can be the Hurdle. Sometimes, the most simple and profound prayer may be: “God, Help me to get out of your way, so that your way can get into me.” A reflection in the current issue of Christian Century on this passage from Isaiah brazenly and boldly puts it this way: So mucH of Human religiosity comes down to a Hoax we try to perpetuate on God. We’ll give You worship, we say in effect, and You, God, just mind Your own business. Your place is the church; stay out of our workplaces and our voting stations. You’re the God of religion, not politics or economics. And God laugHs. If you want to worship me, God says, you’re going to have to learn to care about what I care about – and who(m). And as the Bible never tires of telling us, God cares about the widow, the orpHan, and the stranger; the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden. If those people don’t matter to us, then God doesn’t really matter to us either. THat’s Isaiah’s message. I wish it were Sunday. That’s my fun day. I don’t have to run day WHat would it look like if our sabbath keeping meant intentionally seeking to do the will of God? After all, that is wHat the cHurcHy word “rigHteousness” means, rigHt? Discerning the will of God through the Holy Spirit to share the love of Jesus Christ in the living of these days… Is not this the call of Deuteronomy? THe message of the propHets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and my buddy, Amos? Is not this the word of hope, the promise of life, the response to what God begins in us Jesus preached? Is not religious observance is authentic and meaningful, rather than an empty show of piety, when coupled with love, mercy, and compassion? When love and forgiveness permeate our relationships? When justice for all is our priority over getting our own way? Listen for the voice of God. Maybe it’s a wHisper. Maybe a repeated idea you can’t seem to sHake. No doubt, we all Have a growing TO DO list waiting for us, at Home, at work, wHerever… Set the list aside to sense with wonder God’s call! THe Sabbath is not a burden, but an invitation to remove burdens in order to clear the path for an encounter with God, for us and for others. It’s Sunday, let’s make it our FUN DAY! .

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