Though the coming days and weeks will be filled with trials and uncertainty, we affirm our faith in God's promise to provide refuge and strength in times of trouble. As the winds and waters subside, we will respond to God's faithfulness by supporting our sisters and brothers as they recover from the devastation caused by this storm.

In addition to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) volunteers now on the ground, PDA is continuing to connect with presbyteries in the affected and potentially affected areas. Supplies have been inventoried, and additional teams of PDA volunteers stand ready to help in many aspects of the clean-up and long-term recovery process. Your generosity will only increase the effectiveness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s response.

What You Can Do

We ask that you stand in the GAP for those who are being affected by this devastating storm:

GIVE. Even after the clouds have lifted, long-term challenges brought by Sandy will be faced by millions; we ask that you prayerfully consider giving online to DR000187. You can give $10 now by texting PDA to 20222.

ACT. Assemble Gift of the Heart kits-clean up buckets, baby kits, hygiene kits, and school kits. Contact the PDA Call Center at (866) 732-6121 for details on how to volunteer your team's skills to efforts on the ground.

PRAY. Please pray for those who have already been impacted by the storm, including those who will face the additional challenges brought by further inclement weather. Pray for affected families and those who will help with emergency, relief, and recovery efforts. Pray that the hope of Christ will be evident in our response.

Read more about how PDA is responding 

Sabbath: An Acquired Taste

We need the Sabbath even though we doubt we have time for it.

Dorothy Bass, Keeping Sabbath

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel believed that Sabbath was an acquired taste. From a quick look at our schedules, it would seem he was right. We know that honoring the Sabbath and keeping it holy is one of the 10 Commandments, yet all too often we seem to approach it as an option. We'll take a day "off" if and when we have time. Yet keeping Sabbath is God's command, not a polite request.

A study of scripture reveals that Sabbath keeping is rooted in creation. From the beginning, God has modeled the gift of Sabbath as a time not only to "catch our breath" and delight in the gift of creation, but also to take time to nurture a deeper relationship with God. As Thomas Kelly, Quaker educator, missionary and scholar, wrote in A Testament of Devotion, "The deepest human need is not food and clothing and shelter, as important as they are. It is God." At its heart, Sabbath keeping is about intimacy with God.  

Through Sabbath, God seeks to sanctify us. In keeping Sabbath, we are both set apart and purified; we are made holy. No longer slaves in Egypt, we have been set free (c.f. Galatians 5:1). For that reason, breaking the Sabbath in ancient Israel had serious ramifications. In Numbers 15, a man gathering up sticks on the Sabbath was ordered by God to be put to death. As Richard Lowery in Sabbath & Jubilee writes: "It is understandable ~ though chilling to modern sensibilities ~ that the Bible sometimes treats Sabbath violation as a capital crime. Violating Sabbath is blasphemy because it attacks the very character of YHWH as a redeemer of Israel, the God who frees rather than enslaves, who offers lavish blessings, rather than endless toil. Sabbath is a deep symbol of Israel's intimate relationship with God." Yet still we become enslaved.

Parker Palmer in Let Your Life Speak reflects on five shadows, in particular, that enslave us:

1. Insecurity about identity and worth;
2. The belief that the universe is a battleground;
3. "Functional atheism," that is, the belief that everything depends upon us;
4. Fear of the natural chaos of life;
5. The denial of death.

Sabbath becomes the means by which we come to remember both who and whose we are. Knowing that our core identity is rooted in Christ, we are then able to function as peacemakers rather than warriors. We know that together we are the body of Christ and that God alone is sovereign. We also know that God creates, heals, and redeems out of the chaos of our lives, and that death precedes resurrection.

For Jesus, Sabbath keeping involved not only time with the Father, but also the exercise of justice toward others.   The gospels record five instances of Jesus in conflict with the authorities because of healings that took place on the Sabbath. For Jesus, Sabbath keeping included inviting others out of bondage to that which enslaved them. Through such healings, Jesus modeled the Sabbath as a literal day of liberation. In another instance, when the disciples were criticized for plucking corn of the Sabbath, Jesus makes clear that "the Sabbath was created for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27).

With liberation comes joy. As Jesus elsewhere reminds us: "I have come that my joy might be in you and your joy complete" (John 15:11). It seems God's command is not only for our own good, but that we might know joy in our deepest being. Are we ready for such joy?

When will you keep Sabbath this week?

Debbie Rundlett,  

General Presbyter