Emmanuel Lutheran Church

July, 2023

One of my favorite scripture passages is 1 Kings 19:11-13. Elijah is hiding in a cave from those who would kill him. The word of the Lord tells him to stand at the entrance to the cave and that the Lord would be passing by. Wind, earthquake and fire came, but the Lord was not present in them. After these, a “sound of sheer silence,” and the Lord spoke to him out of that silence.

The God who created the universe and all that is in it paused and rested after it was complete. Jesus was known to separate himself from the crowds and even his disciples to get away from everything to rest and pray.

There are many times where I just have to have all my other “tasks” done before I can focus on my sermon preparation. Having all those “disturbances” out of the way seems to allow me to better “hear” the Lord and focus on the message God would have me bring to you.

There is the saying that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” This is not a biblical quote. It comes from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. To be fair, it did show up in The Living Bible’s translation of Proverbs 16:27, but the better translation from Hebrew is “An ungodly man digs up evil…”

Because of this saying, Christians have been taught that to always keep busy is a virtue, and so we find it very difficult to just sit down and spend some time in “sheer silence.” In fact, when there is an extended period of silence in worship (a wonderful place to experience moments of silence) people get uncomfortable and think that someone must have forgotten something.

Northeastern Ohio Synod Bishop Laura Barbins has recognized that congregations need “permission” to rest. Perhaps this has come from her travels around the synod and witnessing pastoral burnout and congregational stress. She has called for a “Summer Sabbath” for congregations around the synod. Each congregation is encouraged to choose one month during the summer to step back from all the “busy-ness” of the church and use this time to catch their breath, regenerate, renew and be refreshed in the Spirit. If God needed a break, so do we. If Jesus needed to get away from the crowds, so do we.

Emmanuel’s council has chosen the month of July for our summer Sabbath month. There will be no Division or Council meetings during July. Worship goes on of course, but even those who are responsible for the things of worship are encouraged to keep their work as simple as possible.

Use this month of “sheer silence,” like Elijah, to encounter God more intimately. Spend it in prayer. Listen to what God is saying to you in the silent moments of worship. God told Elijah to go, and gave him instruction to anoint would-be kings and prophets. His time of rest was over and he found strength and encouragement to go forward, doing the work that God called him to do. May the people of Emmanuel do the same, for there is much that God has in store for us in the months ahead.

Blessings,
Pastor Alan