Keeping Sabbath

Scripture

Deut. 5:12-15
¹² Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work. ¹⁴ But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. ¹⁵ Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day. 

Devotion

21st century America values productivity...so much so that it seems like people are always on the go.  Parents and guardians spend their evenings shuttling children back and forth to all sorts of after-school activities and then wonder where the day has gone.  Business people try to squeeze just one more conference call into their tightly packed schedules.  Religious leaders who spend their days bouncing from meetings to sermon prep to pastoral care needs and then find themselves working late into the night in hopes getting just one more thing done.   Because this constant activity seems normal, many people feel lazy or guilty when they take to rest.  After all, shouldn't be doing something productive?

Scripture, reminds us that taking time to rest isn't something we should consider getting around to when we feel like it.  It is something God commands us to do.  The Ten Commandments remind us that after 6 days of creating the world, God took time to rest; therefore, we are too also devote one day out of every 7 to resting and worshiping God.  Deuteronomy goes on to explain that this commandment doesn't just apply to the Israelites.  The people must ensure that the foreigners and slaves in their land and even their animals are also given a Sabbath.  Foreigners were understood to probably worship other gods, and animals worshiped no God at all.  And yet, God commands that they receive one day of the week to refrain from their labors.  God teaches that to rest and to let others do so as well rest--even those who don't believe as you do--is a holy thing. 

Why, though, is rest so important?  Well, studies show that apart from ants (who never sleep), living beings need a chance to rest and recharge their batteries if they are to remain happy, healthy, and functioning well.   The right amount of rest improves every aspect of our lives.  Without it, we suffer all kinds of physical, mental, and emotional effects that make it harder to love God, love others, and love ourselves.  Simply put, without some Sabbath time, we cannot live as God wants us to live.  The command is to have a holy day of rest once a week isn't about giving us an undue burden or making us less productive.  It is a gift from God.  As Jesus says, " ^The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27).

This crisis highlights the necessity of remaining vigilant about God's command to rest.  When everyone began social distancing more, I heard a lot of jokes about how much more free time we were all going to have on our hands.  Instead, what has happened is that we have learned to fill our time with different forms of work and productivity.  Because we aren't used to laboring in this way, its easy to lose track of just how much time and effort we are putting in.  For instance, I couldn't figure out why I was tired and scatter-brained last week.  Then, I realized that a side effect of working mostly from home was that I had worked 7 days a week for over a month.  I hadn't meant to do it.  There was just always one more thing that I wanted to get done before I took a break.  Because I have converted my kitchen table into a desk, it was all too easy to just keep going.  Somehow, I had managed to work through 5 of my Sabbath Fridays.

Last Friday, I closed down my kitchen table "office" and spent the day doing things that help me center myself and find joy in the blessings God gives us.  I read a book.  I treated myself to a special dinner.  Whenever I began to hear the siren call of my email account, I prayed.   The next day, I was amazed by how much mentally, spiritually and emotionally equipped I felt to keep doing God's work.
  
I know that it can be difficult to observe the Sabbath.  I can tell you from personal experience that the more we successfully commit to taking a day for holy rest, the easier it becomes to keep doing so.  What's more, the blessings from that time can be simple yet profound.  Following God's command will fill your with new life.

This week, let's all commit to taking some time for Holy Rest .  If, like pastors, you have to work on Sunday, take a different day.  I would also recommend setting aside a little time of each day for something that soothes your body, mind, and spirit.  Go for a run.  Color a picture.  Watch a movie.  Call someone you love.  Pray. Whatever it is that brings you peace, don't feel guilty about taking time to recharge your spiritual batteries.  Sabbath time isn't a burden.  It isn't an reward.  It's  a gift.  God commands us to take it.

Prayer

 Today's prayer comes from the Jewish tradition.  The faithful sing it at sundown on Fridays as they light candles to mark the arrival of Shabbat.

 

בָּרוּך אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אַשֶׁר קִדְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶל שַבָּת

"Blessed are You, God, Ruler of the universe, who sanctified us with the commandment of lighting Shabbat candles."