Pastor's Message

What I am trying to do in my life is change the way I mark time, and I invite you to join me.

"Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ... As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, ... "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised." Mark 16

When I look at most calendars the box at the far left, the first box of the row that makes up any particular week, corresponds to Sunday. Sunday is the first day of the week. Yet in my life and in my speech, sunset on Sunday marks the sad -- and sometimes anxious -- end to the weekend. Sunday is the last day of the week.

Since the world we know spins on an axis of work and school, most of us mark time with a five-day week that begins on Monday, makes a turn on Friday, and ends on Sunday. Sunday is the last day of the week, regardless of what box comes first on the calendar on the wall. In fact, in the calendars most of us keep on our desk, Monday is the first day of the week. Monday takes priority. Sunday comes last.

For years, I have understood that the one of the biggest obstacles to people joining the assembly of God's people for worship on the first day of the week [read: going to church on Sunday], is the time of day and the day of week when we worship. For all practical purposes, Christ's people are worshipping on the morning of the last day of the week and the last day of the weekend. When the alarm goes off on Sunday morning and the church bells start to ring, these summons ring right in the middle of "our time." Add to this, the church's wise and consistent teaching on the sabbath -- the day God rested from all God's work and commanded God's people to do the same from all their work -- and the fact that we really do need a "day of rest" at the end of the week and seems to tough to make the case for Sunday morning worship.

If we remember our catechism, however, we remember that Martin Luther explained that Christians keep the sabbath by attending to God's word and the sacraments, by resting in God's grace, mercy and love. This is most certainly true, but I have met few people, especially parents, who see or experience Sunday morning worship as rest. It's a lot of work, honestly. I know. And that's okay. I am fine with that.

What I am trying to do in my life is change the way I mark time, and I invite you to join me. I want my mind and heart to reset itself to the rhythms of a six-day work week that begins on Sunday in worship, praise and thanksgiving, tending to God's word and being fed and strengthened at Christ's table. From there, I move into the rest of my work week, slowly at first, but I will go in peace to do what God has called and gifted me to do: to share the good news, overcome barriers and connect one to many in Christ in the home, in the classroom and on the job. Then as the sun sets on Friday, I want to slow down and begin to rest, again in praise and thanksgiving to the God who gave me life, meaningful work and a command to rest.

Sounds simple enough, but its a challenge because I am not asking that we simply write worship into our weekly schedule, I am asking that God's word and weekly worship transform our schedules, our priorities, ... and our lives.