The Wholehearted Life
Midweek Lent 2
March 16, 2022
Good Shepherd, Wells, MN
Exodus 23.10-13; Psalm 23
Jewish rabbi Ed Friedman has taught me a lot about human interactions and organizations. He told a story about a time he was on crutches, but wanted to go to a stamp show in Philadelphia. I think he was living in the Washington, DC, area at the time. So, he crutched to the cab, crutched to the train, crutched to the convention center, crutched around the center all day, and crutched back home again. When he returned home that night, his wife asked him to take out the trash. He responded, “How insensitive can you be? Can’t you see I’m on crutches?”
For Friedman, the activity of attending a stamp collector’s show was so life-giving that he barely noticed the pain. Or, if he did notice he didn’t let it bother him. Clearly, taking out the trash was not life-giving. Today we explore another facet of God’s invitation to remembering and keeping Sabbath. The intent of this series is not to induce guilt, but to create a space for your soul to be restored. As David Whyte notes, “The antidote to exhaustion is not rest; it’s wholeheartedness.” If the invitation to Sabbath can be summed up, it would be in an invitation to wholehearted living.
Last week, you heard from Pr. Erica that the invitation to remembering Sabbath is grounded in the creation story in Genesis, even though it comes in the giving of the Law in Exodus. We note that we who are created in the image of God are to rest as God did. Interestingly, in Exodus 31.17, a bit later than our text for this evening, it goes farther: not only did God rest on the seventh day, but God was also refreshed on the seventh day. Let that sink in for a moment: God was refreshed. If God needs refreshment, then so do we. This was such an important practice for the young Israelite people that not observing Sabbath was a deadly proposition.
Why was this so important for God and the Israelites? Because remembering Sabbath impacts both body and soul. When Exodus 23 talks about being refreshed, the world can actually be translated “re-souled.” We know there are many soul-crushing events that can occur in our lives, we need our souls restored. That’s what the psalmist is saying when he asserts that the Good Shepherd restores our souls. We walk through shadowy valleys but by God’s grace we are invited into soul restoration.
So, I want you to think about what activities you engage in that are life-giving and restorative for you. Like Ed Friedman, what are the things that restore your soul and energize you for daily life? Another way to ask this question is, what happens to you when you aren’t able to engage in these things so that you are not like yourself? Can you think of one activity you can engage in this week to remember Sabbath and restore your soul? Remembering Sabbath encourages you to rediscover what gives you life and to do it. The Good Shepherd invites you to still waters so you may have the life God creates for you. Amen.
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