Sabbath rest is, in my opinion, the most difficult practice of all Jewish and Christian practices. For so many years, I’ve said “Oh I’ll start practicing that once I get _____” (Fill in the blank: older, a more regular schedule, a full-time job and have less concerns, etc.) but with each passing year, it only gets more difficult and elusive.
I learned that again two weeks ago on our annual youth retreat to Kanuga in Hendersonville, NC. This year, I decided to try to do something entirely new with our retreat. I decided we should all do Sabbath together. Our retreat would actually be retreat – rest, centering, renewal, space to breath and pause life. Less programs, less schedule, less tasks, more space. Since I’ve started at Myers Park, I’ve heard all about how stressed out, over-scheduled, over-booked, over-programmed, and over-worked our youth are. I took it to heart and decided that in everything we do in our retreat, we would Sabbath together.
Though it is often overlooked, probably because it is so hard to do, Sabbath is actually one of the most prominent practices mentioned in the Bible. In fact, Sabbath was there “In the beginning…” when God created and created the entire cosmos and the land and the ocean and the birds and “everything that creeps on the ground of every kind” (always loved that part) and finally God made humankind. And then…there was evening and morning the seventh day and God rested – God sabbathed. Jewish Sabbath is from sundown Friday evening, through Saturday morning and until sundown again, just as it was in the beginning.
In Exodus, right in the middle of the Ten Commandments is the commandment to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Sabbath links the first half of the commandments, which deal with our relationship to God, to the second half, which deal with our relationship to one another. It is only through Sabbath that we can be in right relationship with God and with each other.
Breaking the Sabbath was one of the chief charges against Jesus by the pharisees. Just think about that: Jesus got in trouble for hanging out with sinners, for claiming to be an instrument of God’s divine grace and healing, and…not doing break time properly.
And if you think this is all just ancient Biblical practice, Jews today still practice Sabbath with celebration and reverence of the Holy. Some will not drive, will not go to work, will not use technology (no cell phones!!!), will not turn on the lights, or will not cook! All Sabbath preparations must be made in advance so that there can be no work on the Holy Day.
Lesley-Ann, our guest speaker, shared the story of her husband visiting a Jewish Temple during Shabbat and when he came out after the service was over, the Temple had locked all the cars behind a gate, with a sign saying, “Ahhh, the wonders of Sabbath!” Some Jews give their cars a break and instead walk home – even if it takes the Temple Impound Service to make it happen.
These are some of the things that I know about Sabbath. Here are some of the things I learned, felt, and experienced on our Sabbath weekend:
Sabbath is rest. Sabbath is first and foremost taking a rest. It’s clearing the calendar for the day and saying, “The work can wait until another day.” Sabbath is realizing that even God took a break. How much more important do we think we are that we don’t think we need one too?
Sabbath rest is about not only by asking “How can I experience rest?” but also “What do I need rest from?” and “What do I need to give a rest?” Depending on your answer, there will be different ways for you to experience Sabbath. If you asked me, I would say I need rest from e-mails (sending and receiving), I need rest from sitting in an office, I need rest from the routine. I need to give a rest to my Facebook, to my Instagram, to endless Netflix binges, to my worries, to my constantly checking e-mail accounts, to my trouble with relationships.
If you asked our youth, they would say the need rest – from school, from cliques, from trying to be perfect, from their bad attitudes and the bad attitudes of others, from being who others want them to be.
Sabbath teaches us that their is a proper place for work and rest, purpose and play. Sabbath puts aside one day each week so that we can do the work of the rest of the week. Sabbath reminds us that there is a God who created us and even God took a break.
Sabbath is a kind of resistance. Sabbath is learning to say “No” to all the world’s demands. Sabbath is a way of resisting the constant drive to produce more, work more, do more groups, create more resume bullet points, and the constant idolization of being “busy.” In the face of the frenetic pace of our corporations, our news, our politics, our schools, even our churches, Sabbath moves at the pace of rest. Sabbath, as Rob Bell has put it, reminds us that we are human beings not human doings.
Sabbath is a kind of death. In a video we showed over the weekend, Barbara Brown Taylor talked about Sabbath as a kind of death. When we say “no”, when we take a break, there is a kind of death that happens. It’s the death of our self-importance. It’s the death of saying, “I need to get this done now or else it won’t get done.” And this is the hardest kind of death for a stubborn works-righteousness leaning Christian like me. Sabbath is having faith that God will take care of it on God’s time, and is not dependent on you to save the world.
Sabbath is about fulfillment. Refraining from the technology, from cars, from work – it’s not about being some legalistic do-gooder. You turn off some things so you can take on other things. You turn off the lights so you can watch the sunrise or set. You turn off the TV so you can read a book or enjoy the pleasure of sitting on the front porch. You turn off the cell phone so that you can turn on a good face-to-face conversation with an old friend.
One of the things we practiced this weekend was collectively giving up our cell phones. At the beginning of worship, we’d come up and place them in a basket – almost like an offering. And when we did, we’d receive a blessing – a little piece of paper with a quote or thought on it to guide us. Now I see that it was more than just a practical way to get our youth to get away from their screens. It was the rhythm of Sabbath – we shed some things and we take on the blessing – of more time, space, and rest.
I need that kind of rest, that kind of Sabbath. I wonder if you do, too. In her closing reflection, Lesley-Ann asked, “What is the one thing you would do if you had more time in a week?” After everyone had a chance to respond, she issued the challenge: “This week, take some time and do it.” For me, it was reading for fun. I think I’ll start there this week.
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