I don't know that many people honor the Sabbath anymore. It's likely considered an outdated concept, one better fitted to a slower pace of life. Youth sports and errands have likely overtaken the time once set aside for rest. I'll freely admit that I'm not great at intentional Sabbath practices -- perhaps I'm too busy pretending that the world depends on me, that I need to be running and pushing, faster and faster, trying to build my kingdom.
Here at the end of Isaiah, the prophet is telling us about the Kingdom of God, trying to lift our vision up to see what God has in store, and in God's Kingdom, worship doesn't just take place on the Sabbath, but it's from Sabbath to Sabbath. Worship fills in the gaps in our lives, finding every nook and cranny and filling it with the glory of the Lord. We finally fulfill our purpose, which is to bring glory to God. At that point, I believe we'll understand how all the good and wonderful things in this life pointed forwards to the glory of God, how our best art that pointed towards the beautiful and sublime was reflecting echoes of God's beauty. Our lives will be worship, and worship will be our lives.
It's a far cry from how many of our lives run, where the gaps between worship are filled with so many things, often which are good and important things. But it's challenging to think of life between the Sabbaths as entirely caught up in worship -- it's simply an entirely different way of life. I truly believe it's possible to live this way, but it's certainly not easy, and the life of faithful discipleship is one of taking small steps in the same direction, day after day. Just as the Gospel of Luke talks about Jesus setting his face towards Jerusalem, so may we set our face towards God and lead our lives slowly towards the place where they are going, a life of continual worship in the Kingdom of God.
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