Tuesday, March 16

Sabbath Reflection

This is the Sabbath to-day. This is the day set apart by a benignant Creator for rest – for repose from the wearying toils of the week, and for calm and serious (Brown's dog has commenced to howl again – I wonder why Brown persists in keeping that dog chained up?) meditation upon those tremendous subjects pertaining to our future existence. How thankful we ought to be (There goes that rooster, now.) for this sweet respite; how fervently we ought to lift up our voice and (Confound that old hen – lays an egg every forty minutes, and then cackles until she lays the next one.) testify our gratitude. How sadly, how soothingly the music of that deep toned bell floats up from the distant church! How gratefully we murmur (Scat ! – that old gray tom-cat is always bully-ragging that other one –
got him down now, and digging the hair out of him by the handful.) thanksgiving for these Sabbath blessings. How lovely the day is! ("Buy a broom! buy a broom! ") How wild and beautiful the ("Golden Era 'n' Sund' Mercry, two for a bit apiece!") sun smites upon the tranquil ("Alta, Mon' Call, an' Merican Flag!") city! ("Po-ta-to-o-o-es, ten pounds for two bits – po-ta-to o-o-es, ten pounds for quart-va dollar!" )

- reprinted Mark Twain's San Francisco, edited by Bernard Taper
(McGraw Hill, 1963), pp. 199-200
Reflection –
Peter Romersa

“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” In this commandment, God prescribes people work for six days out of the week, but on the seventh day God proscribes any work to be performed by anyone. This is a special day out of the week that is reserved for quiet time, and no work should be done at all. God, as the final authority, even gives the prohibition of work to slaves and animals that work on the farm.
This advice just as timely today as it was back when in ancient times, when the world was beginning to form. Today we live in a twenty-four hour news cycle virtual reality world.
We are constantly being bombarded with the latest scandals from Hollywood celebrities to
high-profile superstar athletes. We need one day to take a break from Twitter, Facebook, a
nd Gmail: the scandals can live to wait another day. We need to take a break from all this information, so we can recharge our spiritual batteries and we can start the world anew the next day and be ready for any challenge that faces us during the week ahead.