Receiving the Day

Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time

Dorothy C. Bass, Dorothy C. Bass

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781506454757
• eBook ISBN:
  9781506454764
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Embrace time as a gift--not an obstacle

Receiving the Day invites us to open the gift of time, to dwell in the freedom to rest and worship that God intends for us and for all creatures. In this book, Dorothy C. Bass shows how Christian practices for rest and worship continually welcome us into a way of life attuned to the love of God, neighbor, earth, and self.

Bass does not aim to provide clear instructions for creating a schedule that solves all our puzzles about how to live in time. Rather, convinced that Christian faith bears great wisdom about time, Bass offers an account of the weekly practice of keeping sabbath, along with other practices by which Christians have sought to live faithfully in time.

These practices have been lived by diverse communities of faith across centuries and cultures. Through them, we can learn to dwell more graciously, attentively, and faithfully within the hours and days we have. We can also learn to share the gift of time gladly and gratefully with others, in and for this world God loves.

3

Index

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Abednego, 110

Acts, 116

addiction recovery, 20, 26

Advent, 13, 98, 106, 112, 117, 121–22, 130, 140, 153

meaning of, 112, 130

practices for, 130

Advent wreath, 130, 140

African Americans: church tradition of, thankfulness for the day in, 24

freedom songs of, 59

Kwanzaa celebration of, 136

Alleluia, 64, 66, 95, 104, 114, 129

Amos, 134

Ash Wednesday, 114, 118, 164

Aslan, 97–98

attention: as antidote to distraction, 44

daily offering of, 25, 42–45,
48

to nature, 44

offering daily, to God, 50

Auden, W. H., 113, 163

“Away in a Manger,” 114

Babette’s Feast, 14–15, 158

baby care, 113

baptism: daily token of, 26, 42

of Jesus by John, 114

Saint Francis on, 54

yearly celebration of, 140

Barth, K., 58, 160

baseball, 91

basketball season, 121–23

bathroom, going to the, 41–42

bedtime, impact of clock-driven efficiency on, 35

bedtime prayers, 29, 53–54, 151

bells: in monasteries, 33

school, 5

Benedictine Order: clock invention by, 33

liturgy of, 29

rule of, 41, 159

time for daily self-care in, 40

Berry, W., 115, 163

birdwatchers, 45

birthdays, 1, 102, 127–28, 136–39, 167

black church tradition, thankfulness for the day in, 24

blurred boundaries: of days of the week, 147

of hours of the day, 2, 36, 39, 73

of seasons of the year, of time, 2, 147

body care, daily honoring of, 39–42

Bondi, R., 47, 160

Bonhoeffer, D., 27–30, 149, 158

Brazil, meaning of time in, 7–8

busyness: problem of, 33

regular prayer in midst of, 47

of school principal, 70–71

See also contemporary society; time deficits

Calvin, J., 92, 162

Calvinists, 85

catechumens, 109–10

cathedral hours, 30

Central America, 139

Charybdis, 46

children: importance special days of the year to, 127

sabbath-keeping and sports of, 61

See also schoolchildren

Christian community: Christian year and, 102–6, 163–65

sabbath and, 62

Christian lens on time, 4

Christian practices: for living through the year, 99, 101, 119, 122, 127–28

for living whole lives, 49

for opening the gift of time, 99

for receiving the day, 146

for keeping the sabbath, 146

Christian year: creative variation in, 94, 136

denominational differences in, 163–65

Easter as heart of, 108–11

embrace of, in personal narrative, 118–19

feasts and fasts in, 4, 111

full circle of, 99, 11...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table Of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Experiencing the Fullness of Time
• This Is the Day That God Has Made
• Receiving This Day
• The Sabbath Opens Creation for Its True Future
• Keeping This Sabbath
• The Circling Year Draws Us into the Story of God
• Living in the Story This Year
• Learning to Count Our Days
• Afterword
• References
• Index
• The Author