“It is in the pauses – the rests, the spaces in between – that meaning is made and that holiness is felt.” Rabbi Evan Moffic
Nowadays we keep so busy there’s hardly a pause or space in our day. Moffic says that “that’s not the way God created us or the world. God worked, then rested. God created, then paused…thus our Sabbath is the day when we can marvel at the beauty of the world God created. It is the day we enjoy what the ancient sages called ‘a taste of heaven’. It is a day when we stop thinking about the what of life and remind ourselves of the why of life.”
In years past, Sunday or the Sabbath, was set aside for worship, rest, and family time. It was a day when stores were closed, people dressed up for church, and the atmosphere was restful and relaxed – a chance to pause and reflect. It was a little “taste of heaven”.
Now, I see little league teams practicing first thing on Sunday morning, sports take center stage, stores are open every day, and people drop into church on their way somewhere else. Sunday or the Sabbath is just another day. We are missing that “taste of heaven.”
This year is the 16th anniversary of 911. I remember exactly where I was when that tragedy occurred, and the sense of helplessness I felt. As Americans, we paused that day and in the days immediately following to honor those who lost their lives in the towers, in the plane crash, and those brave emergency respondents. We, as a church and people everywhere came together to pause and pray to ask God’s blessings and intervention in this tragedy. We needed a little “taste of heaven.”
These past two weeks, we have paused and waited helplessly to see the damage Harvey and Irma would invoke on the country. We’ve taken a pause from our political differences and drawn together to pray for and support those who have lost so much in these natural disasters. When we pause to come to the aid of another, we experience that “taste of heaven.”
As we pause to remember 911 and continue to pray for the victims of the storm, God is working in His world. Sometimes God does His greatest work during the pauses of our life.
Isaiah 29:9 “Pause and wonder.”