Rev. Melinda Giese, Min. of Discipleship & Pastoral Care
As Pastor Cara preached in this week’s sermon, one of the blessings of our creation story found in Genesis 1:1-2:4a is the idea of sacred time. Evening and morning set boundaries to our days, and the seventh day creates a boundary in our week. This final day of the week is set aside for holy rest, which we call Sabbath. My favorite part of this story is that on the seventh day, even God rests. Obviously, there was still so much more that could and would be done in creation, but on the seventh day, God said no. For one day, renewal would be the desired outcome, not more work. And yet, it is so difficult for us to follow that pattern.
My most memorable experience with Sabbath happened during seminary, when one of our professors forced us to take a Sabbath once a week by making it part of our grade. Even if it was only two hours per week, the goal was to unplug, turn off our phones, stop checking our email, and most of all, TO NOT DO ANY WORK. We had to quit being productive for at least a few hours, if not a whole day.
You may not be surprised to learn that even seminary students were so resistant to the idea of Sabbath that our professor had to require us to take one as part of our grade. We all felt too busy and over scheduled for Sabbath. How would we fit it in? And truthfully, many students were working full-time jobs, going to school, and raising families. They were already barely managing - how could they add one more thing, even the rest they knew they needed?
Once we realized that Sabbath was non-negotiable, we wanted to know what counted as Sabbath and what didn’t. Could we do laundry? No. What about tidying up the messy areas that were bothering us and interfering with our enjoyment of Sabbath? No. What about a nap? A nap during a whole day of Sabbath was great, but a nap for your entire Sabbath practice, no. What about family time together? If it felt like real rest and renewal, yes. If it felt like checking off another responsibility, then no. You may remember that there are many rules about honoring the Sabbath in the Hebrew scriptures, and now you know why. We need explicit rules, or we will simply find creative ways to avoid it.
This intentional Sabbath experience taught me that real renewal does not simply mean taking a break from our jobs. Instead, God asks us to let go of all the layers of our to do list. To step out from under the weight of all our responsibilities. To forget the idea that we don’t need to rest. And perhaps most importantly, to give up the belief that we only have value and worth if we are doing something useful.
If you want to try out this radical practice of taking a Sabbath, the rules we established in our class worked pretty well. Even if you only observe a few hours a week, that is far better than no Sabbath at all. And if your activity seems like work pretending to be rest, it doesn’t count. The hope is that you will discover how renewal feels in your body and spirit, and let God help you accept that blessing.