Daily Office - Discovering the Rhythm of Sabbath Pt. 2*

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)

 2) Scripture Reading—Genesis 2:9b, 15-17
In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

4) Devotional
At the heart of the Daily Office and the Sabbath is stopping to surrender to God in trust. It is the very essence of the sin in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve legitimately worked and enjoyed their achievements in the Garden. They were to embrace their limits, however, and not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were not to try to see and know that which belongs to Almighty God.

As theologian Robert Barron has argued, the heart of original sin is the refusal to accept God’s rhythm for us. The essence of being created in God’s image is our ability, like God, to stop. We imitate God by stopping our work and resting. If we can stop for one day a week, or for mini-Sabbaths each day (the Daily Office), we touch something deep within us as image-bearers of God. Our human brain, our bodies, our spirits, and our emotions are wired by God for the rhythm of work and rest in him.

Stopping for the Daily Office and Sabbath is not meant to add another to-do to our already busy schedules. It is an entirely new way of being in the world, resetting all of our days toward a new destination—God.

5) Question to Consider
How do you hear the invitation to “stop and surrender to God in trust” today?

6) Prayer
Lord, help me to grab hold of you today. I need you. Set me free to begin reorienting my life around you and you alone. Help me to pay attention and honor how you have uniquely made me. Thank you for the gift of rest. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

* from "Begin the Journey with The Daily Office" by Pete Scazzero

Daily Office - Discovering the Rhythm of Sabbath

*Daily Office - Discovering the Rhythm of Sabbath

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)

2) Scripture Reading—Luke 8:11-15

 This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

3) Devotional

 Awareness of the love of God and responding to it is at the heart of our lives.

Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the good soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.

This is no new idea. Christ in the parable of the sower long ago told us that “the seed is the word of God.” We often think this applies only to the word of the Gospel as formally preached in the churches on Sundays. But every expression of the will of God is in some sense a “word” of God and therefore a “seed” of new life. The ever-changing reality in the midst of which we live should awaken us to the possibility of an uninterrupted dialogue with God.

"We must learn to realize that the love of God seeks us in every situation, and seeks our good.” - Thomas Merton

4) Question to Consider Pause to consider your day. What seeds from God might be coming to you that you want to be sure not to miss?

5) Prayer Lord, I praise you that your love seeks my good in any and every situation. Forgive me for the seeds that I squander. Soften my heart to surrender to your will in and through me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

*from "Begin the Journey with The Daily Office" by Pete Scazzero