DE PONDERINGS

Each week I receive an email article from The Alban Institute. This week the article was Pastoral Sabbath Rest written by Judith A. Schwanz. As I read through the article, it became apparent that it could pertain to more than just clergy. The information is pertinent to everyone.

I’d like to share some highlights from the article to help us think about our need for Sabbath rest. I’ll be the first to admit that I need to make this information applicable in my life. It isn’t easy backing away from unfinished work for a break and to receive renewal, but the One who we follow, Jesus, did so. If Jesus was intentional about rest, maybe we should be, too.

Schwanz begins by writing: “The word holy means set aside for a special purpose or withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God. To set aside a day for a special purpose suggests a break in weekly patterns. To withdraw from common employment means that Sabbath should be an uncommon day in many dimensions.”

Sabbath is...

• ...a break from routine, a change of pace. Change what you normally do. Don’t answer email or the cell phone. Stay home instead of traveling. Get out of the office.
  
• ...a break from expectations and productivity. Unproductive time is not wasted time. Read a book for pleasure. Sleep late. Putter around in the garden. Do something that is a source of refreshment.
  
• ...a break from competition. Lay aside for a day the pressure to be number one. Choose not to engage in competitive activities.
  
• ...a break from consumerism. Take a simplicity break. Refrain from acquiring things for a day. Appreciate what you do have and refrain from grasping for more.
  
• ...a break from being in control. Let someone else handle some of your responsibilities for a day. A lot of people may depend on us, but they really can get along without us for one day. REALLY, they can.

Sabbath is not only a break, it is also renewal. Schwanz says “the word renewal suggest making things that have become old and familiar new again.”

Sabbath brings...

• ...social and relational renewal. Spend more time with family, with friends. Be intentional and develop Sabbath rituals that include those with whom you are in relationship.
  
• ...spiritual renewal. Sabbath provides extended time to practice spiritual disciplines, i.e., Bible reading, prayer, solitude, meditation, etc. Include a deliberate time of worship, focusing your full attention on God in awe and reverence.
  
• ...physical renewal. This is a great time to catch up on sleep of which you’ve been depriving yourself.
  
• It’s also a great time to play catch with the kids or take a relaxing, meditative walk.

Sabbath is not...

• ...a sign of weakness. It is part of a rhythm of life. God practiced Sabbath in the beginning. Jesus practiced it in his day.
  
• ...simply a day off. A day off conjures images of chores and doing what needs to be done, substituting the pressures of one place for another. Sabbath implies a deliberately restful day for refreshment and restoration.

Schwanz closed with a quote from Marva Dawn’s book, Keeping Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 34, which says: “When we order our lives around the focus of our relationship with God by letting our Sabbath day be the highlight of our week, toward which everything moves and from which everything comes, then the security of God’s presence on that day will pervade the week.”

May Sabbath rest be pervasive in our lives!