Encounter With God

Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices is an excellent book by Brian McLaren, which focuses on a relevant interpretation of themes like those found in Jeremiah 6:16 - "Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths. Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." In this recent blog series, we have shared Brian's application to the Abrahamic practices that have influenced the three major religion's in the world, that have direct ties to the patriarch Abraham - Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

Thus far, we have examined the practices of pilgrimage, fasting, holy meal, prayer of blessing and proportional giving or tithing. In this post, we would like to reflect on the final two practices, which arise among the patriarch's descendants. Abraham and Sarah had a son late in life, Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob (aka Israel). Jacob's son, Joseph, ended up by God's design (Genesis 50:19-21) in Egypt, and later, due to a famine in the land of Canaan, his brothers join him in Egypt as refugees. The temporary refugees are detained and reduced to slavery after Joseph's death. About 400 years pass, and Moses arises as their liberator and leads them out of Egypt, into the desert, and to the borders of Canaan. As slaves, they had their human dignity disgraced and their identity as Abraham's and Joseph's descendants dishonored and almost erased. During their time in the desert, Moses received from God a set of laws that were intended, among other things, to restore their human dignity and their unique identity.

Among these laws are our final two Abrahamic practices. One is Sabbath, which sets apart the seventh day as a day of rest. Slaves had no days off. They were only given value for their service to the empire and King. But through the Sabbath, God is revealed to be no hard taskmaster or cruel slave driver. God gives us a break. In God's Kingdom, there is a rhythm of work and rest for everyone. People do not live to work, but work and rest are a part of life under God. The other is Observance of Sacred Seasons, which grew out of the sacred rhythm of Sabbath into a sacred rhythm of seasons that were enriched by special holidays and seasons during which the people's heritage was remembered and feasts about God and His creation were celebrated.

These ancient Abrahamic practices have served to counter other less healthy practices. For example, Pilgrimage leads us to cross boundaries and thus undercuts nativism, nationalism, ethnocentricism, and racism. Fasting requires self-control and so defies the self-indulgence of gluttony, lust and greed. The Sacred Meal calls us to reconciliation with God, neighbor and enemy, thus countering the centrifugal forces of selfishness and resentment. Prayer of Blessing counters drudgery, reminding us to know God in the affairs of daily life. Tithing bridges the gap between rich and poor and begins to heal the rift that expands between them. Sabbath liberates the soul from the external tyranny of exploitation and the internal tyranny of workaholism. And the Observance of Sacred Seasons counters amnesia and apathy with memory and anticipation.

These seven ancient practices have shaped our world for centuries. If allowed to become extinct, our world would be a vastly different place. But if they are kept alive in us and our descendants, we may discover that they contain ancient resources desperately needed in the world yet to come.