 | Sabbath Reflections As I reflect on the past four weeks of class discussions, my reading of Sabbath Keeping, and my personal meditations of what the Sabbath means to me, I can't help but take a deep refreshing breath. After all, it's a lot to take in. My lungs fill with air as my chest rises and my shoulders ease backward. I hold this breath as I my mind wonders if I can inhale even one more ounce of air. Slowly, I begin to exhale out through my nose, noticing the feeling of the swift tingle of warm spent air through both of my nostrils. My chest deflates, my shoulders begin to fall, and I realize I am as relaxed as I've ever been. This is what the Sabbath means to me. That sounds really good to me. Unfortunately, it's not the reality of where I find myself in my observance of the Sabbath. These past four weeks have really challenged my view of how I am to engage in practicing a true Sabbath rest. It was interesting to learn that eight out of the ten commandments given to the Israelites by God through Moses on Mt. Sinai were concerning actions to abstain from. "Thou shall not…" do this or that. Only two of them were dealt with a positive action. One being to "honor your father and mother" found in Exodus 20:12, and the other being about the Sabbath. Exodus 20:8-11 says, Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Not only was this a positive commandment, but I also found it interesting that it preceded the Law. God set this day aside as a day of rest for us before He even made us. That blows my mind! In the past, it's always been tough for me to wrestle with the taking on rules and regulations of how to live as a Christian. I understand that the boundaries of morality that God prescribes for us are for our benefit and not our harm. However, when it comes to putting certain spiritual disciplines into practice, I tend to shift into a legalistic mindset and find my worth being directly connected to the achievement of all the "do's and don'ts" much like the Pharisees during Jesus' time. For this reason I tend to swing in the opposite direction of them, making sure I'm not locked into a value of myself based on my own righteousness. That's why it's hard for me to think of the Sabbath as preceding the Law. It's made me rethink some of the things Jesus taught about Sabbath. As is the case with other laws, which governed the Jewish life, Jesus came on the scene fulfill the Law, not abolish it. In fulfilling it, Jesus continually pointed to the spirit or heart of which we are to carry out the actions that are as God desires them to be. I can obey these laws in spirit and in truth, and not be weighted down by them, but instead be freed to live the best way possible. This is the way God intended us to live from the beginning. Keeping the Sabbath holy is part of that. One of the primary things which is now reshaping my view of what Sabbath looks like in my life has come about as I've asked myself why God rested on the seventh day of creation. I find it strange that this day of rest is apart of the creation account. What does this rhythm of God's design mean for me? Practically speaking, why should I observe a day of rest apart from the other six? It seems somewhat legalistic. It makes more since to me to rest in God's presence everyday of the week, not just one. But there's something new that I've discovered as I've recently been experimenting, for lack of a better word, with observing a true 24-hour day of rest. I've learned that it actually works better! I'm able to live and breathe in God's presence even more during the other six days of the week. It's like the Sabbath day leaks, or bleeds into the other days. Before I go on any further, I should probably unpack what exactly I've discovered are the do's and don'ts of my Sabbath. First and foremost, the most important thing above all else concerning the Sabbath is always, always, always remembering that it is a gift, not a requirement. Jesus says in Mark 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. This has been so vital in engaging with God in true communion. If I find myself doing something as a sense of obligation or duty, I try my best to stop as quickly as possible and ask myself why it is that I'm doing it in the first place. Treating the Sabbath as a gift allows me to embrace it as a celebration day instead of a thing I have to do. One key area I'm learning is that practicing a day of rest is a process, not a product. In the past, I've always struggled with resting in God's presence, sitting in silence and simply reflecting on God is difficult for me. I've realized that since I've never really done this kind of thing before, it's probably going to take me a while before I'm comfortable with it. In the mean time, I've satisfied with being uncomfortable with it. I look at it as a life long learning process, and that's OK with me. In fact, I'm now realizing more that ever that the more difficult it is, the more I'm doing it right. For six days I produce, produce, and produce. My physiological brain response is geared toward the adrenaline I get from accomplishing this task and that goal. It makes sense that my body has been going through a kind of a shock reflex when I've begun to make space to slow down. I'm resting easier in the knowledge that my worth is not determined by what I produce. Some practical things I'm discovering about what it means to "cease from work" on the Sabbath have really been helpful in creating space for true rest. One of the things has been to put any kind of "to do" list away for that day. Another helpful thing that I've been looking at is what my regular week looks like. Electronic devices play a large role in my daily life. Whether it's the constant ease of connection associated with my cell phone, or the distraction of television and internet surfing, modern day conveniences are somewhat inconvenient when it comes to making space for God's presence. As a seminary student, most of my week involves reading and studying God's word. On my Sabbath, I take a break from this. My week also involves interacting with lots of different people and connecting through conversations almost all the time. So, I refrain from large social gatherings and interaction where I'm likely to engage, or be engaged in lots of discussions. I also have a part-time job during the week, so I'm careful not to be scheduled on my day of rest. My only task is that I have no task, which leads me into the ways that I engage true rest in God on my Sabbath. Again, the most important thing is that I don't view any of these practices as requirements or obligations. I desire to enter into the spirit of this gift that God has given me. Lynne Baab's book, Sabbath Keeping, has really opened my eyes to some helpful ways to engage entering into God's presence more intentionally. In one section, she talks about what it means to engage our senses through experiencing God's creation. There's always been something so refreshing to me about soaking in the enormity of God through a breathtaking view. I love to be out in nature. There's just something that gets to my soul while I'm taking a leisurely stroll through the park, or making an afternoon out of a day trip on a hiking trail. That's of course considering the weather cooperates. Just in case, however, sometimes a simply pulling up a chair under my porch and listening and watching the rain drizzle down for a while is good too. Enjoying a delicious glass of wine, or one of Portland's very own micro-brewed beers can also pass the time while slowing down enough to remember all I have to be thankful for. There's an art to remembering and reflecting on God. Sometimes it comes through experiencing His creation, while other times I'm drawn into the story of His relationship to me in my own personal salvation. I'm conscience of the importance to make space for God to guide and direct my times of stillness the way He desires. It's been difficult to keep obstacles from interfering with times of reflection, but I'm confident that God is working in building me to experience His fullness according to His timing. For now, my times of meditative reflection are short, but very potent. I've already experienced such wonderful blessings through them that I am certain they will continue to deepen as time goes by. As I continue to explore what it means to truly be "alive in Christ" I keep coming to the realization that I often feel like a zombie. I think I've been alive but at the same time still dying inside. The word Sabbath first appears in the Old Testament in Exodus 16:23 when God provides manna from the sky and tells the Israelites to gather twice as much on the sixth day so that they don't have to be concerned about having food the next day. Instead, God tells them to enter this seventh day of rest. I am learning that similar to these Israelites who God led out of Egypt, out of a land of slavery where their worth came from how many bricks they could produce, I too have been given a gift of a day of rest. This is where space has been made to celebrate my worth through my relationship to my Creator, not based on what I do, but grounded instead in His eternal love for me, Benjamin Richard Malick. Sabbath gives me the energy I need to exist for another six days. It is that deep refreshing breath of true life that carries me more fully into the arms of my Savior throughout the week. |
