Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
October20 2021
Invitatory
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be always acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end.
Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
Reading: Matthew 12:1-8
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
Meditation – Peter Vanderveen
I love bicycling. And some who know me know that I like to ride fast and hard. I like the satisfaction that comes from it. I have the usual modern accoutrements: a computer on my handlebars that keeps track of my speed and the cadence of my pedals and the distance traveled and the number of feet I’ve climbed riding up hills and my heart rate and the calories spent and the watts of power I’ve generated. All this information is collected and saved, and I’m then informed whether my performance is increasing or whether I’m slipping a bit. All these numbers become a severe taskmaster.
The month of October, however, reminds me what I love most about biking. I love the pure movement of it, gliding noiselessly through neighborhoods, crossing distance by my own power, taking in the environment, being acutely aware of what is all around. And this is the time of year when this is slowly taken away. Daylight hours shrink. Cool weather bends toward becoming cold. And I find that I have to transition to riding in place, on a trainer. I can get all the same information from my biking computer, and, by the wizardry of technology, I can ride routes throughout Europe -- actual championship courses -- and I am joined by thousands of others worldwide who happen to be riding at the same time. I’m thrilled that this is possible. But it’s still a simulation, and what I really love about biking is absent from the experience. I can enjoy a sense of accomplishment, but the riding feels significantly more like exercise than like biking.
The original intent of the Sabbath was to preserve a time when the presence of God could be more directly acknowledged and celebrated. The noise of much of the rest of life was to be reduced so that the voice of God could be heard anew. Imagine if this were your first expectation for the day. But almost immediately, the Sabbath took on a different feel. Form took precedence over content. Observances became habitual, and habits became rituals, and rituals were reified into rules, and rules became reason for judgement. This holds to this day. Mention Sabbath (it’s become a fairly deadening term) and people will think about all sorts of activities that are either dutifully performed or studiously avoided, none of which involve a real anticipation of being placed before God, hoping to be addressed. Sabbath has become a kind of exercise that can do some good. It can be enjoyable and productive. It can provide a beneficial, communal forum for the contemplation of many issues that are important to us. It can even involve talk about God. And yet, the love of God can be strangely absent.
Jesus, in his comments to the Pharisees, wryly pointed out just how much their devotion to secondary habits blinded them to the fact that God was directly before them -- “something greater than the temple.” We are so often exactly of the same mind, seeking many varied satisfactions while losing what’s vital. Those who choose not to come let us know when worship has become a simulation.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
