Worship / Sabbath

The gift of worship, if nothing else, is that we have space and time opened up where we are not at the center; where we set the self aside for the sake of the neighbor, a friend, the other, our community. The gift of worship is that we get to set aside our narcissism for a period of time.

The gift of sabbath (rest is not the gift, because if the sabbath were only or primarily about rest, then the focus of sabbath would still be work ... to prepare for work) is that we come to know deep within ourselves that we are not at the center of the universe - that the world will continue, even without our input or energy. And when we see the world continuing, we begin to start to understand that (as much as we might like to be) we are not in charge.

The gift of worship, the gift of sabbath, is that we are forced into the counter-cultural realization that it's not all about me - that even if it's not about the other, then at least God is at the center.

$0.02