Sunday Musings – January 12, 2020
For some religions Sunday is the sabbath which is traditionally celebrated as a day of rest and worship. The word seems to derive from the verb sabat which means to stop; to cease. The word worship is generally defined as the practice of honoring or showing reverence to or for a divine being or supernatural power.
For some the sabbath is observed in a temple, church, or synagogue with others of a similar faith or tradition. I understand the work church to mean community. Thus for those who celebrate the sabbath in a church, temple or synagogue worship is a gathering; a gathering to give praise to the God of their understanding, to offer each other the sign of the peace, to celebrate each other’s joys and to offer each other comfort. It is a time to see what others in the community may need.
On this Sunday which in the tradition in which I was raised is the sabbath, some will gather in beautiful structures such as the newly renovated Wall Street Trinity cathedral in New York City or in the elegantly renovated St. Joseph’s cathedral in Wheeling, WV. Others will gather in small country churches or even in the homes of people. In our increasingly aged population many will gather in chapels is nursing homes.
For many Sabbath begins with sundown on Friday while others celebrate on Saturday or Sunday.
On this Sunday my spiritual intention is to pray. For me prayer can be a time of quiet but it is also an action verb which denotes the dance of life I choose to do today. It is easy for this human to dance a dance of judgment or criticism; of noting the various ways we humans demonstrate our lack of perfection; to act shocked that this very delicately balanced brain of ours often makes decisions which are injurious of ourselves, others and mother earth.
In vain have I searched for a community which warmly welcomes all humans and which embraces those who bring a very individual God of their understanding. The Unitarian Universalist Churches may come closest of a religious institution to welcoming those with a diverse or individualized understanding of the power greater than oneself.
As a certified addiction counselor I sometimes attend 12 step meetings to which I often refer those looking for help in overcoming active addiction. In those meetings the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using- to stop engaging in addictive behavior. These 12-step program begin merely with an acknowledgement that once one engages in an addictive behavior such as the use of alcohol or other addictive drugs one is powerless over the obsession to keep using. The second step does talk about coming to believe in a power greater than oneself. This may be the community of others in the meeting there to give support to each other. Although there are those who arrive with a Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, or Christian god or gods of their understanding there is no requirement that one embrace a divine being; just a simple reminder that everyone is equal, everyone is welcome and everyone belongs to each other. At these meetings the goal and the principles are to give thanks – to welcome the newcomer regardless of who they are or what they have done; to give thanks that the prodigal son or daughter has just for today found their way home.
This then is my idea of prayer on the sabbath; to give thanks that in all our perfect human imperfections we can welcome each other home no matter our age, nationality, religious preferences, sexual orientation, gender or what we have done or left undone.
Written January 12, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
For some religions Sunday is the sabbath which is traditionally celebrated as a day of rest and worship. The word seems to derive from the verb sabat which means to stop; to cease. The word worship is generally defined as the practice of honoring or showing reverence to or for a divine being or supernatural power.
For some the sabbath is observed in a temple, church, or synagogue with others of a similar faith or tradition. I understand the work church to mean community. Thus for those who celebrate the sabbath in a church, temple or synagogue worship is a gathering; a gathering to give praise to the God of their understanding, to offer each other the sign of the peace, to celebrate each other’s joys and to offer each other comfort. It is a time to see what others in the community may need.
On this Sunday which in the tradition in which I was raised is the sabbath, some will gather in beautiful structures such as the newly renovated Wall Street Trinity cathedral in New York City or in the elegantly renovated St. Joseph’s cathedral in Wheeling, WV. Others will gather in small country churches or even in the homes of people. In our increasingly aged population many will gather in chapels is nursing homes.
For many Sabbath begins with sundown on Friday while others celebrate on Saturday or Sunday.
On this Sunday my spiritual intention is to pray. For me prayer can be a time of quiet but it is also an action verb which denotes the dance of life I choose to do today. It is easy for this human to dance a dance of judgment or criticism; of noting the various ways we humans demonstrate our lack of perfection; to act shocked that this very delicately balanced brain of ours often makes decisions which are injurious of ourselves, others and mother earth.
In vain have I searched for a community which warmly welcomes all humans and which embraces those who bring a very individual God of their understanding. The Unitarian Universalist Churches may come closest of a religious institution to welcoming those with a diverse or individualized understanding of the power greater than oneself.
As a certified addiction counselor I sometimes attend 12 step meetings to which I often refer those looking for help in overcoming active addiction. In those meetings the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using- to stop engaging in addictive behavior. These 12-step program begin merely with an acknowledgement that once one engages in an addictive behavior such as the use of alcohol or other addictive drugs one is powerless over the obsession to keep using. The second step does talk about coming to believe in a power greater than oneself. This may be the community of others in the meeting there to give support to each other. Although there are those who arrive with a Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, or Christian god or gods of their understanding there is no requirement that one embrace a divine being; just a simple reminder that everyone is equal, everyone is welcome and everyone belongs to each other. At these meetings the goal and the principles are to give thanks – to welcome the newcomer regardless of who they are or what they have done; to give thanks that the prodigal son or daughter has just for today found their way home.
This then is my idea of prayer on the sabbath; to give thanks that in all our perfect human imperfections we can welcome each other home no matter our age, nationality, religious preferences, sexual orientation, gender or what we have done or left undone.
Written January 12, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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