Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope that by the time you read this you have had time this holiday season for whatever it is that you needed. For some of us that was maybe time with friends. For others, gathering with family that we don’t get to see often enough. And maybe for some of us what we really needed was space and time away from whatever the norm of our life is. Maybe, what we really needed was a break.
The original intention of many holidays was for people to have a break. It was a chance for something different from the normal routine and, to use religious language, to instead enjoy sabbath. And the thing about sabbath is that it doesn’t just mean not working. It doesn’t just mean relaxing. It means taking time away so that you can connect. Connect with God and connect with your neighbor.
The intention of sabbath is more than just a break from the hustle and bustle of life. The intention is a purposeful pause—a moment to recalibrate, to remember what matters most, and to deepen our connections. When we step away from the ordinary, we open space for the holy, for the divine. And in this space, we can encounter the sacred, the ways that God is always present with us but is often unnoticed in the busy rhythms of daily life.
And unfortunately for too many of us the holiday season only intensifies that hustle and bustle and those busy rhythms. Rather than an opportunity for pause, in order to do everything that we want to do, the Christmas season especially can feel like normal life on hyperspeed.
As we move into the new year this is an opportunity to consider how we might live more intentionally into, or how we might begin to create a rhythm of sabbath. This could be through creating rhythms of prayer and meditation, intentionality around shared meals with loved ones, or acts of kindness and selflessness. Sometimes we have to resist making our goal be about creating a perfect, idyllic life. Instead, these sabbath rhythms are about making room for rest, reflection, and relationships to be nourished and restored.
So wherever we find ourselves in this new year, may we find the space to create new rhythms. May we find the ways that they bring us new life. And through these experiences of renewal may we continue to be beacons of light in our families, communities, and world.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Andrew