The flu bug has bitten!

The flu bug bit me earlier this week. Eeew. It was not pretty. I was not up for blogging and am trying to play catch up in the office. Look for new blog posts soon. In the meantime, blessings to you!

-- Leah

Shopping will Not Save Us, Part 2

Today's blog post is a reflection on the section entitled "The Gospel of Consumption" from the chapter on "Happiness" in Wayne Muller's book "Sabbath".

So...when I wrote the blog post called "Shopping Will Not Save Us" a few days ago, I had no idea that there would be a "Part 2". But, here is it all the same.

I was so taken be this statement from today's reading: Americans now consume twice as many goods and services, per person, than we did in 1945. "Oh, my God," I want to utter under my breath, both as a cry of disbelief and as a cry for help. What are we doing? Why is this statement true?

I am very bothered by our consumerism, as you may have already guessed by reading other blog posts. I am bothered on a personal, communal, spiritual and environmental level. Our Gospel of Consumption will not save us. It is not good news. In fact, it is very bad news. It is not sustainable. Every time I walk through a store, all I can think is, "Some day...this will all be in a land fill." And, then, when I turn a something over to see where it was made, usually, my response is, "What impoverished person had to work for pennies to make this piece of plastic crap for me to buy?" Really. Truth be told, that's how I feel when I go shopping.

So, I keep wondering how we can turn this tide of consumerism around in our culture. How can we turn away from shopping as gospel and turn towards actual good news, life changing good news? Ideas?

Need VS. Want

Today's blog post is based on the section "The Pursuit of Happiness" from the chapter on "Happiness" in Wayne Muller's book "Sabbath".

What do you really need?

Think about it for a moment. What do you really, truly need?

And what is it that you think you need because you want it so badly you don't know how you'd live your life without it?

Those are the kinds of questions I started asking myself when I realized I wasn't happy in life. It is hard, in our consumer driven culture, to focus on what we really need versus what we really want. Our lives circle so much so around our material desires that we get lost there. The Buddhists call this material desire the "hungry ghost" and it must be satisfied. It must be, unless, we learn how to tame it.

How are you attempting to live intentionally through this study of Sabbath? What new ways of living have you adopted so that you can be at peace and dwell in joy? What Sabbath practice ought you to adopt so that Rabbi Heschel's words ring true in your heart: Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.

Honoring Worth

Today's blog post is based on the section "A Deeper Wealth" from the chapter on "Time" in Wayne Muller's book "Sabbath".

"Be sure they pay you what you're worth." Have you ever received that advice. I have. And the truth is, that's a statement of privilege. Only a minute percentage of people can make such demands. And even then, even when people are paid "what they're worth" they aren't really. Even the wealthiest person in the world is worth more that their net worth.

If we had to simply do the math, and determine each person's worth according to their pay check, the truth would be this -- most people in this world are not paid what they're worth in the least. Moreover, we've tended to organize our pay scales in a bizarre fashion, paying entertainers, athletes, and CEOs exponentially more than those who teach our children, feed the hungry, care for the land and tend to the infirm.

Regardless of how much money you make, though, the truth is this: we are worth far more than our pay stubs reflect. We must remind each other of this because, in our culture, where success, self-worth and self-esteem often have a direct tie to our status in the working world, we often end up feeling less than. Maybe this is the greatest gift Sabbath gives us. Muller states, "during Sabbath, we specifically honor those precious things -- courage, creativity, wisdom, peace, kindness and delight." It is "only in the soil of time" that these things grow. Only when we honor Sabbath time are we able to see richness all around us.

Beyond Measure

Today's blog post is based on the section entitled "Why Time is Not Money" from the chapter on "Time" in Wayne Muller's "Sabbath".

Did you ever see the movie "Say Anything"? It's the last of the great 80s teen flicks. In it, John Cusack's character, Lloyd Dobbler, gives a memorable dinner table speech in response to a question posed to him by his love interest's father. Lloyd's response goes like this:

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."

"Basically," Lloyd continues, "I just want to take care of your daughter, sir."

Lloyd Dobbler's admission would fit well into this section of Muller's book. Here, we are reminded that our modern tools for measuring worth do not take such ventures into account. Caring for those we love and tending to those in our communities, unless it is a job we are paid to do, has no way of being accounted when it comes to measuring a nation's riches. But, how poor would we be without our common care for one another. After all, there are a million ways to be rich; having money is just one of them.

How do we measure our kindness? Only in what our kindness produces -- which is love.

I need the Time

Today's blog post is based on the section entitled "Seize the Day" from the chapter on "Time" in Wayne Muller's Book "Sabbath".

I lived in Battle Creek Michigan for the past 5 years -- birthplace of the corn flake and home to Kellogg's. I was fascinated by Muller's explanation of Kellogg's six-hour work day. Believe me, there's no remnant of that left in Battle Creek today.

What was most fascinating to me was the quote from plant workers in the mid-forties. When given the chance to return to a shorter work week, as opposed to working a standard 40 hour week, many of the workers replied, "I need the extra money, but I need the time at home more." Isn't that the truth!

Considering our current economy, many folks may find themselves in the category of needing more money, but when given the choice between more money or more time, I wonder which one people would really choose.

In my experience, when I've had less money, I've found ways to make ends meet. And, through a little creativity and ingenuity, I've always found a way. But, that's not the case when I've not had enough time. It seems like there's no good way to make ends meet when there's a lack of time. When I am pressed for time, my creativity gets zapped. I become hurried and careless. It seems that I can find ways to cut corners and still live a full and robust life when I don't have enough cash. But, when I don't have enough time, my like seems thin -- how strange since it is so full!

Having time to sit and be with the people I love is important. it is something money cannot buy. What about you? What has been your experience with time and money? Would you agree with the Kellogg's workers that having more money would be nice, but you need the time more?

Sermon posted: There's a Rhythm to It

Pastor Leah's sermon from Sunday, January 17, 2010 on rhythm entitled "There's a Rhythm to It" (part of the Remember the Sabbath series) is now on our Community U.C.C. YouTube channel. Unfortunately, there was a problem and the sound quality is poor (there is a buzzing sound).

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/user/communityucc#p/a/u/0/J4gBxgMV_Pk

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/user/communityucc#p/a/u/1/7NccRFpLwRE

Shopping will not save us

Today's blog is based on the section entitled "A Life Well Lived" from the chapter on "Time" in Wayne Muller's book "Sabbath".

After 9/11, I remember President Bush telling America that the best thing we could do was to go shopping.

Really?

Really.

Of course, I understand that after an attack which brought one of the bright and shining symbols of our free-market economy tumbling to the ground in a pile of twisted rubble, one might fear that our actual economy would follow suit, and therefore shopping was a perfectly reasonable response to such a tragedy.

Really.

Really?

Well, one might contend that our actual economy has followed suit. Sending Americans out to the mall on 9/12 didn't save the economy. And, shopping will not save us in the way we fool ourselves into thinking it will.

Really.

We will not become those people we see in commercials. Having more things, or better things won't make us more successful.

Really.

So, what';s your relationship to shopping? Has it become your main leisure activity? How much more time would you have if you didn't "go shopping" as a leisure activity?

Ritualize, Repeat

This blog post is based on the section "The Book of Hours" section of "Rhythm" from Wayne Muller's book "Sabbath".

As Protestants, we're pretty bad at ritual. My inner Catholic longs for incense and kneeling benches, lighting candles and liturgy I know by heart.

As Protestants, we don't know how to ritualize things. I think we've suffered because of it. Ritual is important. When we have rites of passage ritualized it helps us mark time and our children to grow. When we attached sacred meaning to common objects, we suddenly have an ability to see the Holy everywhere. When we don't ritualize our faith lives, only our secular tendencies get ritualized. And that's fine, but it's probably not enough to feed our souls.

We're pretty good at ritual when it comes to the big high Holy days, like Christmas and Easter. But, beyond that....well, there's not much. I wonder what would happen if we infused our faith lives with more ritual, more opportunities to create sacred traditions.

Do you have thoughts on this? About sacred traditions? About rites of passage?

Just "Let it Be" is hard to do!

Today's reflection is based on the section entitled "Let it Be" from the chapter on "Rhythm" from Wayne Muller's book on "Sabbath".

Every day, I make a list of things that need to be done at work. As I go through the day and finish things, I cross themoff, which feels really good by the way. I love crossing things off my list. At the end of the day, I look at what is left on the list, if anything, and move it to the next day's list. Sometimes, though, I stick around and get it done, just so it's done.

Yesterday, I had a long list of things that didn't get done. Some things, like this blog, really needed to be done for today. Normally, I would have stuck around to do it becasue it's important. But, it was date night. I had this made these plans with my husband. But the blog! I have to do the blog! But it's date night! But the blog! But it's date night! Aaah!

And, then, Muller's words came floating back into my brain, "If we only stop when we are finished with all our work, we will never stop -- because our work is never completely done." Muller's right. The work will never be done. There will always be more work to do. There will always be another thing on the to do list. And that's why Sabbath doesn't wait for our work to get done.

Sabbath comes whether we are ready for it to come or not. When we have committed ourselves to holding Sabbath space sacred, when it arrives we welcome it. Whatever work must be done, it will wait. Whatever is left undone, it will still be undone tomorrow. And you can do it. Tomorrow.

And, so, all of this is to day that the reason you weren't able to read this early this morning as usual is because I was taking Muller's wisdom to heart. When Sabbath time arrived, I took it. And the work? I let it be.

Today is Sacred

Today's blog is based on the section entitled "Hurtling Toward the Eschaton" from the chapter on "Rhythm" in Wayne Muller's "Sabbath".

We progressive Christians may have a hard time when people start talking in eschatalogical terms. Talking about "end times" and when "Jesus is coming back" doesn't easily fit into our theology. Since it doesn't fit neatly and nicely into our theology, we tend to just avoid it all together. What Muller does is ingenious. He doesn't avoid it; he transforms it. Muller makes an excellent point in this chapter about the eschaton and our relationship to our post-modern version of it.

We do live as if progress is the new second coming. It seems as if many of us live in anticipation of this mythic moment in life when we will finally have enough time and more than enough money so that we can finally be happy. Problem is, if we are always living in anticipation of that moment, we never find the inherent joy in this moment.

Instead of waiting until those mythic moments arrive to be happy, why not be happy now?

Instead of waiting until those mythic moments to arrive to enjoy ourselves and those why love, why not enjoy them now?

Instead of waiting, do it now. Love the life you have, not the life you wished you had. Truth is -- this life is pretty good, even with all it's messiness.

I am curious, what did you think of Muller's take on eschaton?

It's only natural

Today's blog is based on the section entitled "Inner Music" from the chapter "Rhythm" in Wayne Muller's book Sabbath.

I am AMAZED at what I read in today's bit from the Sabbath book. I love think about all the animals, fish and flowers living in tempo with the rhythm inherent in creation....the world attuned to the rising of the sun and the circling of the moon, light and dark...the pulse of the ocean, the hum of the earth. How cool is that?

It is cool and, unfortunately, something we completely ignore. We have cut ourselves off so much from the natural world that we live lives unaware of nature's rhythms. Likewise, most of us have learned how to ignore our bodies. Especially in western cultures, we value such a mind/body dichotomy that we miss creation's rhythm beating in our own selves.

We have to stop ignoring our bodies. If we pay attention, our bodies will tell us when to rest and when to rise. Our bodies will tell us when to move and when to be still. Our bodies will tell us when to find nourishment and when to close the refrigerator door already! If we pay attention to those deep circadian rhythms at work in our bodies, we'll find our way...it's only natural.

What season are you in?

Today's blog is a reflection on "The Rhythm of Creation" section of the chapter on "Rhythm" in Wayne Muller's Book Sabbath.

I remember the first time a friend no longer wanted to be my friend. I was in elementary school. It felt like my world was ending. I remember some adult saying to me that "some friendships have very short seasons". I was 7. I really had no idea what she was saying. But, the words stuck with me and the more I experienced the various seasons we experience in life, the more I understood.

By seasons of life, I don't mean spring, summer, fall and winter. Rather, I mean that just as there are seasons for planting, growth, harvest and dormancy in the natural world, those seasons also exist in our own lives and relationships. There is a rhythm to life with highs and lows, bright spots and shadow sides. It is neither good nor bad -- it simply is.

Apparently, when I was 7, that little girl and I had harvested about all we could from our friendship. It was time to let it lie and turn the energy invested in our friendship towards something else. That was such a hard lesson to learn -- it is still a hard lesson to remember when I feel the winds shift in life and attention turns from one thing and towards another. I have to remind myself that seasons aren't meant to last always. This new season will bring possibility, just as the last one did.

Being here, with you, at CUCC, personally, I am in a season of newness and growth. At the same time, with David at home with our daughter, our lives have slowed down dramatically. So, this season is also one of nurturing and nesting. It is a season of investing in a new community and letting go of the former one. There is a rhythm to life and that rhythm is good.

So, I wonder, what season of life do you find yourself in and where is goodness to be found there?

Sermon on rest posted

Pastor Leah's sermon from Sunday, January 10, 2010 on rest (part of the Remember the Sabbath series) is now on our Community U.C.C. YouTube channel. Since it was slightly over ten minutes, it is available in two parts:

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/communityucc#p/a/u/1/nMomdqsDpQA

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/communityucc#p/a/u/0/92s65dqabBc

What city kids don't know

Today's post is based on the section entitled "Dormancy" from the chapter on "Rest".



I grew up in the middle of corn fields. There it was not uncommon in my hometown to find yourself at a downtown stop light behind a turkey truck. Farming was a major component of life where I grew up. And everybody had a garden. My grandparents had an absolutely huge garden. They grew everything from tomatoes to turnips, and rhubarb to raspberries.



There's something you know when your life is tied so closely to the land. It's something that city kids don't know: dormancy is necessary. It's vital and important. It's part of the cycle of life. When you grow up in time to the rhythm of creation, you know this early on.



Jeff was from the Indianapolis suburbs. He had always lived surrounded by concrete and buildings. Yes, he had a yard and trees and such, but you could take 15 steps from his front porch and spit on the freeway. Jeff was a city kid. One night at camp, around dusk, he and I took a walk. All of a sudden, he stopped. Wide-eyed, he looked at the flowers in the field in front of us which were starting to close. He asked in a sort of panicky way, "What's wrong with them? Are they dieing?" He had never seen flowers close up at night.



When we don't see rest reflected in nature, then it's no wonder we think it unnatural. It is, however, on of the most natural things we can do.



What other Sabbath lessons have you learned from the natural world?

The hole in your life

Our reading for today is from the chapter on Rest entitled, "Fear of Rest".

There's a piece in today's reading that really snagged me today. Muller says, " When we stop even for a moment, we can feel the burning, empty hole in our belly. So we keep moving..."

Ah, yes, the hole in your soul -- the one Pascal and Augustine wrote about...the one folk singers and rock stars alike have sung about...you know the hole in your soul. Now, who knows where the soul is located for sure. For those of you who tend to go with your gut, that above quotation makes sense. If you are a heart or head person, it may not resonate with you as much. But, I would say, if you are a heart or head person, just substitute the word that applies to you. The metaphor for this emptiness we all feel in life works either way.

We all have this hole in our soul. We try to fill it up with lots of things:

• too much work and a false sense of accomplishment
• too much stuff and a false sense of security
• too many relationships or unhealthy ones and a false sense of belonging
• too much food and a false sense of fullness
• addictions to substances, gambling, sex, or reckless behavior and false sense of freedom

The list is endless. The truth is none of these things really fills that big gaping hole in the middle of our lives. So, we keep doing and consuming at the same breakneck pace thinking that something will really satisfy, when nothing ever does.

Some theologians and philosophers have surmised that this hole in your soul is shaped like God and that only God will truly fit there. In all my searching, I would agree. The more we find that balance between work and sabbath in my life, the more I find it to be true.

What about you?

It's all good

Somehow I got readings and dates confused...so, even though this reading (the section entitled "It is Good") was for January 8th, I'm blogging about it now. Nothing to fret about really...it's all good.



I say that a lot. The more you are around me, the more you will notice it. I often offer, "it's all good," when things are, seemingly, not good. I do it not to belittle what's happened or try to diffuse the situation. Rather, I offer "it's all good" because it IS. It really is. It's ALL good. God named it good in the beginning (whenever and however that was) and it continues to be true. It is all good, even when circumstances would suggest otherwise.



Sabbath space reminds us that it's all good. When we are rested and renewed, instead of harried and exhausted, we are better able to handle life's disruptions. We are also better able to recognize the inherent goodness in life itself.



Of course, there are circumstances which are not good at all. Bad things happen in life. Horrible, unthinkable things do in fact happen. However, when there really is nothing good to be found in a particular situation, when we are rested and renewed, we are better able to turn tragedy over to God for transformation. It may not be good now, but it will be good again. This promise is woven into the very fiber of creation. It is a promise we can rest in.

On the Exhale

Our reading for today is from the chapter on Rest entitled, "A New Beginning".

The phrase "the Sabbath is the exhale" really captured my imagination in today's reading.

Breath is emotive. You can tell how a person is feeling by paying attention to their breathing. Frustrated? The person huffs at us. Anxious? Someone will be breathing shallow, short breaths. Peaceful? Long, deep breaths will flow effortlessly in and out. What does it mean then that Sabbath is God's exhale?

Jackie is a young person I know. I can always tell how she is doing by paying attention to how she is breathing. When she is really frustrated I know the conversation isn't over until she exhales. She may say we are finished, but I have learned better. I have to wait for the long-awaited exhale when she purges all the left over anxious bits out into the world, letting them go finally. After she exhales, a smile returns to her face and her furrowed brow disappears. When she exhales, she is ready to move on.

I wonder, thinking of Sabbath as God's exhale, if that is the moment when God is also ready to move on, past the work of continual creation. What a wonderful moment we get to share with God, when we decide to settle ourselves down and enjoy the bliss of Sabbath space, so close to the Divine that we can feel her breath. We, too, get to rest with God. So, survey the work you've done, lean back, let out a long steady breath, and follow God's lead -- call it good.

Permission Granted

Our reading for today is from the chapter on Rest entitled, "Legalism and the Dreary Sabbath".

When I started reading this section, I immediately wrote a big YES next to this sentence: by saying no to making some things happen, deep permission arises for other things to happen.

I figured out a long time ago that I just can't do it all. Nor, really, should I try. As Muller reminds us in the quote above, it is only when we say NO to some things that we have enough time, energy, space, money, and interest in doing other things. When we say NO to some things we are able to and capable of saying YES to other things, the things that usually land last on our to-do list, or never make it there at all because we are to busy doing other things we think we ought to be doing.

We're really bad at saying NO, as if doing so is improper, rude, or just downright wrong. I have a friend who has a particularly hard time saying NO. She says YES to everything -- everything! She never has a free night at home to spend with her family. She is perpetually stressed and full of anxiety. Because she has said YES to so many things she doesn't do anything really well, often fails to follow through and doesn't particularly enjoy much of what she participates in because she is always rushed getting there.

Many years ago, I found myself feeling tired and overwhelmed. I decided to pull back from several activities and responsibilities to give myself some breathing space. This friend got really, really mad at me. (I mean really mad and she told me so.) She just couldn't believe that I would start saying NO to things. "You don't see me saying NO to things!" she blurted. My ability to say NO cut to close to the bone for her. She couldn't help but be angry.

I share this story as a gentle warning of sorts. As you begin to embrace Sabbath space in your own life, and therefore, begin to make different choices than you have in the past, not everyone will applaud you. So, know that from the start, brace yourself and do it anyway with grace. You are worth it.

Remember the Sabbath

Welcome to our first CUCC blog. I am excited to be having this conversation about Sabbath with you here in cyber space. Along with reading, please feel free to join the conversation. This first entry doesn't exactly correspond with the reading schedule. We had some technical difficulties here in the office, so today's entry is a composite of some of my initial thoughts on the reading. Tomorrow, we'll be on schedule. Now...down to business: Sabbath.

This is the 3rd or 4th time I have read Wayne Muller's book. Each time I read it, I find it to be absolutely captivating. Muller reminds us that this ridiculous pace we keep as Americans is actually a form of violence.

Our schedules will kill us. Maybe that's why God included "Remember the Sabbath" as one of the commandments -- it's THAT important. I was really captivated by this notion preparing for Sunday's message. Forgetting to rest is as big an offense as killing someone? Really, God?

Really, God says to us as we find ourselves drained, exhausted and wondering if this is what burn out feels like. We forget that rest is essential to life. We forget that rest is a wonderful, blessed part of being. We forget and so, Muller points out, God says, "Remember."

So, I wonder, as you have begun thinking about the role rest has played, or has not played, in your life, have you been good at remembering the Sabbath?

Welcome

Welcome to the new blog for Community United Church of Christ in Champaign, Illinois.
http://community-ucc.org/