It's Sunday, and I'm cheerfully typing away at my computer, sending emails for my Interfaith Internship and giving thanks for once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that come to mind.
It's not exactly bringing "the sacrifice of praise into the House of the Lord," as an old praise song goes, but I think God delights in the sight of me sitting comfortably on my bed, with the windows open, enjoying the peace and quiet and bird chirps as my computer helps me communicate with the outside world.
Jesus was accused of not keeping the Sabbath, but he reminded those around him that it was important to be out and about, engaging with life outside of the Jewish Synagogue. He went places that "no good Jew" would go--the homes of tax collectors, the wells of Samaritans--and that was what his Gospel was all about.
I had dinner last night with a Jewish rabbi, the executive director of a foundation that supports Shinnyo-en Buddhism in the U.S., and three members of an Episcopalian Church in Orange County. It was a wonderful time, and it didn't hurt that I was eating the best Italian food I've had since moving back from Boston.
I've expanded my personal quest for healthy spirituality from Ecumenical relationships to Interfaith collaboration. Jesus has been with me every step of the way, and in some ways, my Interfaith Internship has fulfilled desires that I once thought would be met working in full-time Christian ministry, married to the pastor I had been dating. God certainly operates outside of the box of my limited thinking!
Proverbs 3:5 comes to mind. How easy it is to lean on our own understanding, when trust is the key. I want to acknowledge the Lord in all my ways--even those that don't seem to be a "typical" (Evangelical) Christian engagement: skipping church, supporting other faith traditions, and praising God in the midst of it!
*P.S.--I do take personal Sabbaths, where I put aside work emails and reading, usually from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. This follows the Jewish (and SDA) tradition of Shabbat.
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