sabbath

“At least one day in every seven, pull off the road and park the car in the garage. Close the door to the tool shed and turn off the computer. Stay home not because you are sick but because you are well. Talk someone you love into being well with you. Take a nap, a walk, an hour for lunch. Test the premise that you are worth more than what you produce – that even if you spent one whole day being good for nothing you would still be precious in God’s sight- and when you get anxious because you are convinced this is not so, remember that your own conviction is not required. This is a commandment. Your worth has already been established, even when you are not working. The purpose of the commandment is to woo you to the same truth.”

Barbara Brown Taylor
An Altar in the World

Why is it that I find it so easy to disregard this commandment? I would not consider stealing, murdering or adultery. I try really hard not to covet. But, I don’t even attempt practicing the Sabbath, at least not in the way that I think God intended it. If one of the purposes of Sabbath is to convince me that the world will keep turning if I stop, I haven’t stopped long enough to find out. If the purpose is to have a day filled with rest and play – that is what I call ‘vacation’. If the purpose is to focus more on being than doing, a full day seems indulgent. If the purpose is to refrain from consumerism one day a week, I’ve missed the mark.

Sabbath isn’t to be a dull, dreary day. It is meant to be a gift - a day to rest, to renew, to refresh, to play, to relax, to notice, to stop. Why would I say no to that?

Barbara Brown Taylor remarks that if we paid attention to the verses – no – the commandment that speaks to Sabbath (Lev 25) the same way we pay attention to the verses that speak to sexual practices (Lev 18) we might discover that God is just as interested in economics as He is in sex.

I find myself asking some hard questions….why is it so easy for me to disregard Sabbath? It certainly is counter-cultural, but so are many of the other things I believe and practice.

In reality, it is a beautiful gift God has offered to me…. and to you. What would it look like to begin opening that gift? I will be reflecting on this more intentionally as I move into this Christmas season. I invite you to do the same.

Grace and peace,
Deb
Photo by Kevin Henderson klherrit@gmail.com