Gathering
Opening Prayer:
Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Begin with brief check-ins and the opening questions below:
Opening Questions:
Have you been able to find time to practice sabbath? If so, what has that been like? If not, what would help you to find that time?
Content Study
- Rewatch the Sabbath video from +Phil LaBelle on the ecww.org/zimzum-discipleship website.
- Reflect on the video together. What did you notice this time?
Reading: Exodus 20:8-11
“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.”
Reflection Questions
- This command from God begins with the word “remember.” What about this command makes us often forget it?
- We Americans tend to idolize constant work, often called “the Protestant work ethic” which is directly tied to capitalism, yet God commands a day of not working. Explore as a group why we easily break this commandment, while breaking the others in the 10 Commandments—to not steal, murder, commit adultery—would at the least give us significant pause.
- According to the commandment given in Exodus, everyone—and every living thing—is to enjoy the Sabbath. What could that look like today if we observed Sabbath practice?
- Dan Allender writes, “Sabbath is the holy time when we feast, play, dance, have sex, sing, pray, laugh, tell stories, read, paint, walk, and watch creation in its fullness.” His list is not exhaustive but, rather, an invitation to imagine what a day filled with delight might actually include. What would that day look like for you?
- Dan Allender also notes that few people choose to participate in a weekly sabbath “because a full day of delight and joy is more than most people can bear in a lifetime, let alone a week.” What do you make of his assessment?
- The spiritual practice we are focusing on is honoring the Sabbath. What have you noticed about the impact on your life? How might you continue to honor it as a day of delight?
Final Reflections
- What has captured your heart or your imagination in today’s discussion?
- How is your soul?
- Where have you seen God—or Love—recently?
Closing Prayer
Almighty and Eternal God, you sacrificially withdrew from a place within yourself in order to create the entirety of the cosmos so that you might be in relationship with us and all of creation. Help us to embrace zimzum discipleship and make space in our own lives, that we might more faithfully follow in the way of Jesus who gave of himself for the salvation and healing of the whole world. All this we ask in the name of the Risen Christ, who dwells endlessly with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
