Thought for Today
1 Chronicles 24:3 Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service. (NKJ)
1 Chronicles 24:19 This was the schedule of their service for coming into the house of the Lord according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the Lord
God of Israel had commanded him. (NKJ)
Mark 10:1 He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.
Luke 4:16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
The word routine does not appear in the Bible in any translation I have in my library or on my computer. However, I know that my own life in retirement and second career is still as driven and controlled by schedules and routines as it was during my earlier career. Those schedules and routines are not as rigidly fixed and inflexible as they once were, but they are still there. I have a ‘workflow’ regulating my week and each day of my week.
Hopefully, you noticed that yesterday I deviated from my ‘regular’ routine and schedule. I did not write anything to share with you. I did have a very valid reason, even if it is not an excuse. As part of my Fathers’ Day celebration, I spent yesterday with my son and his son, my grandson. Life cannot ever have a sufficient number of times for fathers and sons to be together. Every time such occurrences happen is a time to be especially treasured and enjoyed.
This morning, several thoughts are on my mind. First, obviously, is the importance for many of us of the routines and schedules in our lives. Planning, scheduling and adhering to our routines greatly improves our efficiency and makes our lives run more smoothly. That is true for our daily lives and it is true for our spiritual lives. We set aside 1 day each week to worship our Creator God. We set aside specific hours on that 1 day for our corporate worship. We generally refrain from ‘work’ most of that day. I may have ‘occasionally’ shared my youthful frustration and irritation about what seemed to me inconsistencies as to the definition of ‘work.’ For some reason, my own father considered going to the theater work but did not consider mowing or raking the lawn to be work. Irrespective of such inconsistencies, we do generally follow the words of scripture, “Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work . . .”
We do know, however, that even Jesus had routines and schedules. Synonyms for routine would include habit, custom and practice. When crowds gathered around Jesus, Jesus’ custom was to teach those crowds. When Jesus returned to his hometown, “he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.” A part of Jesus’ routine was to worship on the sabbath. I cannot help but believe that as Jesus began his ministry, as he faced the daunting task of spreading the gospel good news of God’s love and forgiveness, he must have planned exactly how he was going to accomplish that task. Even then, however, he did not abandon the customs and routines of faithful worship he learned from his parents.
As I write and reflect on yesterday, I am also struck by how frequently in the Bible we encounter the parent-child model as a way to understand our own relationship with our Creator God. Even in the Trinity, we refer to God the Father and Jesus the Son. Although both Testaments originated in patriarchal societies, we find numerous references to that parent-child relationship in terms of both parents, “Isaiah 66:13 As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
Tomorrow is Father’s Day (the ‘official’ spelling), but I always think of that day as Fathers’ Day. I believe about this holiday, just as I do about Mother’s Day, that it is a day to celebrate fatherhood. I believe it is a day to honor all fathers and that everyone who is a father or who had a father should celebrate fatherhood tomorrow. I am convinced that the parent-child model is used so often in the Bible, because it is a close as we can come to fully understanding our own relationship with God.
Stay safe, celebrate fatherhood and Fatherhood, trust God,
Pastor Ray