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Morning Devotion for the Season of Easter
April 12, 2024
Invitatory
‘You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory? How long will you worship dumb idols and run after false gods?’
Know that the Lord does wonders for the faithful; when I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Reading: Exodus 16:23-36
Reading: Exodus 16:23-36
he said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” ’ So they put it aside until morning, as Moses commanded them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, ‘Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. For six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a sabbath, there will be none.’
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions? See! The Lord has given you the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day.’So the people rested on the seventh day.
Meditation-Rebecca Northington
This past Tuesday marked the end of Ramadan, the month-long tradition of fasting, prayer, community and introspection that comes in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. I knew mostly because my 7th grader could finally pack snacks again for math class. I say this ironically as it seemed to cost her so much to get through that one intense class without something to nibble on, while her classmates went the entire day with no food or water for a month.
My daughter knows a lot about Ramadan and is excited to share her knowledge with our household; mostly out of fascination and admiration I believe. She explained that each evening as her friends broke their fast, they did so with dates as that was Muhammads habit when breaking his fast. She explained that Ramadan celebrates the first revelations from God to Muhammad and its observance is one of the five pillars of Islam. She describes this season as one of intense prayer, family time, attention to tradition, and devotion to God.
She did not know that in many countries it is actually a crime to be found eating or drinking during Ramadan, while in other countries, fasting is illegal during this month. She has compared it to Lent, but didn’t know that there is actual research that suggests it was inspired by Syrian Christian Lenten practices from the 6th and 7th centuries. Religion is fascinating, and just as people and trends influence one another, so too religion is undeniably cross pollinating. This notion of putting aside time and devotion for God is required in all Abrahamic traditions and is expressly requested in the text from Exodus read today.
It is interesting to consider in the context of Ramadan, for the Sabbath does ask for a kind of fasting and a re-orienting of ourselves to the Lord. This text asks that we pause and know that we are provided for; perhaps instead of seeking out more-more of anything-we need to stay still and quiet and give thanks for what we have already been given. I find it encouraging that my daughter is inspired by her classmates' commitment to fasting, and for the school’s support. The more that we know about our neighbors' religious beliefs, traditions, and loyalties, the better prepared we are to support them, and perhaps ourselves in our own faith journeys. As we talked about Ramadan these past several weeks I saw my daughter reconsider her own commitment to Lent, to Christianity and to the Sabbath.
The mid-20th century Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel’s book, The Sabbath, beautifully explores the many holy aspects of the 7th day, and why we as humans need to keep it sacred. It involves not only a trust in God, and a shift towards placing God again at the center of our lives; but also a sense of the sacredness of time, with the Sabbath as a weekly remembrance of what is truly important. It is less about the structures we build, the achievements we master, the wealth or knowledge we collect-but most importantly about the “inner liberty” we keep holy and independent from “the material world”.
The Sabbath offers time in which to find God when often during our regular lives we search for something else instead, in the material, spatial world. Heschel cautions us not to live one type of life for the first 6 days, but rather to consider our daily week as a sort of pilgrimage to our Sabbath-which is where we again find ourselves in balance, in harmony, with God and our inner liberty.
I find myself inspired by my daughter's newfound awareness for religious expression and what it conveys. What if we kept the Sabbath as central to our week, a sort of lighthouse, guiding us in preparation for a weekly celebration of all that has been given? What if we broke bread on Sunday evenings as a holy expression just as my daughter's classmates have each evening at sundown this past month?
At the end of the passage above we understand that some did not listen to God’s promise but went out searching again, even after being asked to stay in and trust that they had been given enough. We see that God is frustrated in his people. Why do they doubt? Why do they feel that they need more? My inner voice hears ‘why is it never enough’.
A Song of Creation: the Cosmic Order
Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord, O heavens and all the waters above the heavens. Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord. Praise Him and highly exalt Him forever. Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew, all winds and fire and heat. Winter and summer, glorify the Lord. Praise Him and glorify Him forever. Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold, drops of dew and flakes of snow, frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord. Praise Him and highly glorify Him forever. Glorify the Lord. O nights and days, O shining light and enfolding dark. Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord, praise Him and highly exalt Him forever. Amen
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