Over the last few days there has been an interesting conversation happening about time and days off and stuff (Chris and Greg both wrote great blogs about this!) but I haven't joined in the conversation until today. This afternoon in my Old Testament class we began to have a discussion about Sabbath. I admit, that while I need to start good habits of sabbath keeping while I'm in seminary, I don't. Beth forces me to take a day off each week from church, but unfortunately I have to do school work all day, so I rarely (if ever) take a full day off during the week. That's ok with me...I like my job, I love my students, I work with my wife and we find time to be together and hang out with our friends who are life-giving. So, when Dr. Richter began to discuss Sabbath I was interested, although a little frustrated, as lately the idea of Sabbath has become more of an inconvience because I've got stuff to do. Then Dr. Richter began to talk about Sabbath from the standpoint of an ancient Israelite. For generations, the people knew nothing over than slavery. They had been beaten and bruised and the only value that they had in society was what they could do. They had watched their sons killed, they had made bricks and more bricks and more bricks. Life was about survival, not thriving. If you made it to 40, you were lucky. And so, standing in the desert, God offers the people the best thing he can...rest. A day to just be who they are and be with God. Sabbath wasn't an inconvience...it was a life changing gift.
As we frantically tried to write this all down, suddenly Dr. Richter told us to stop and asked us to hear this quote. It spoke deeply to me and it might to you as well.
"Now, what is the meaning of the sabbath that was given to Israel? It relativizes the works of mankind, the contents of the six working days. It protects mankind from total absorption by the task of subduing the earth, it anticipates the distortion which makes work the sum and purpose of human life, and it informs mankind that he will not fulfill his humanity in his relation to the world which he is transforming but only when he raises his eyes above, in the blessed, holy hour of communion with the Creator. With this meaning it would be no exaggeration to state that the sabbath sums up the difference between the biblical and Marxist visions.
The essence of mankind is not work!"
Henri Blocher. (Emphasis mine.)
So, what does this say to us? What does it say to me amid by 12 hour Sundays and reading Mondays? The essence of life is not work, but communion with God. Sabbath wasn't an inconvience; it was (and IS) a gift!
May we never forget the blessings that our God gives...the blessing NOT to work! The blessing that we are more than what we can do...We are defined by our Sabbath...by our communion with God.
3 comments:
Boy that hits home. "Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man..."
I have a real problem in this area; Robyn is often calling on me to take a real day off. Tough stuff; Lent is a good time to "refocus".
Excellent focus on the idea and the transforming power of slowing down, and taking time to be with God. I think that one of our greatest problems in the pastoral world is this idea that things can't happen without us. Each of us falls prey to this and each of us can learn something from the understanding of Sabbath.
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