SNOW SABBATH
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
Fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command.
Psalm 148:7-8
We are having a snow Sabbath this weekend.
As I write this, Snowzilla, (as the Capital Weather Gang has christened this winter storm) has blanketed the Metro D.C. area with more than a foot of snow and more is on the way.
I imagine most of you will be digging out Sunday morning and for many of you, the roads will be impassible. While I hate to do this, the staff, the council and I have made the decision to cancel Sunday worship.
For me, Sunday worship is a blessing that disrupts the weekly routine, the daily grind of work. It reminds me that life is about more than drudgery. Life is God’s power at work in us, calling us to be fully human, to fulfill our destiny as the baptized people of God. Sunday worship also reminds me that I am not the center of the universe, that there is One greater than I, ordering and caring for creation.
Snowzilla has disrupted our weekly routine—and perhaps that is the point. God has called a snow Sabbath, a disruption to our busy, self-absorbed Washington D.C. way of life. Snowzilla puts us in our place. Snowzilla reminds us that we are not in control of the universe.
Yet, while Snowzilla reminds us of our limitations, it does not diminish in any way our call to be the baptized people of God. Snowzilla may even provide opportunities for us to be the people of God, to care for our neighbors, to care for those in distress and for those less fortunate.
Finally, while Sunday worship may be cancelled, Snowzilla does not cancel the Sabbath day. Exodus reminds us that the God who created heaven and earth, the God who created hail, snow and frost, and stormy winds, is the One who consecrates the day.
So wherever you are this Sunday, and I hope you are home, safe and warm, surrounded by loved ones, take some time to remember the Sabbath day. Take time to pause and praise the Lord, the One who created the heaven and the earth. Give thanks for your life. Pray for God’s protection on first responders and others who serve in these treacherous conditions. Then, make it your intention to carry God’s gracious love out into the world this week.
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy…For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
Exodus 20:8 & 11
Blessings,
Pastor Margrethe