Keeping the Sabbath
Signs of the Spirit Discuss where you have seen God's Spirit at work this week. How have you experienced grace in a new way through Christian practice? Discuss any joys or struggles you had. How is it with your soul? Purpose Because we long for Christ to be formed in us, we make this covenant to tend the fires of our souls so that our longing for Christ may never be extenguished and that our lives will be set ablaze with his love. Instruction Before you begin, take some time and write down your first impressions of the word Sabbath. ♦ What images come to mind when you think of the word Sabbath? ♦ What does it mean to keep the Sabbath? Why is it important to you?
The Meaning of Sabbath
The word Sabbath is derived from the Hebrew word shavat, meaning "to cease and desist." This definition gives us some indication of what Sabbath is all about. Sabbath is referred to a number of times in teh Old Testament. In Exodus 20: 1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:1-21, the observance of Sabbath on the seventh day of teh week as a holy day is commanded. The passage from Exodus is part of a dialogue between God and Moses at Mount Sinai. In this dialogue, God lays down the purpose of the Sabbath as both a covenant between God and the people of Israel and a day of rest to be observed faithfully
♦ Do you observe a time of ceasing and dsisting from daily busyness?
Keeping the Sabbath Throughout Our History as God's People
As the Jewish faith developed, rituals for keeping the Sabbath also developed and evolved. Today, practicing Jewish persons observe Sabbath from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. According to the Jewish calendar, Saturday is the seventh day of the week.
In contrast, the early Christian church observed Sabbath on Sunday to recognize Christ's resurrection and the work of the Holy Spirit on the first day of the week. In the Gospels, Jesus and some of the Pharisees (those who believe in the strict observance of the Law both inside and outside of the Temple) clash over how they understand the Sabbath. Jesus taught that the Sabbath was created for people to worship the Lord, not to discourage one from doing the work of the Lord. Keeping the Sabbath for Jesus was doing the work of the Lord, which for him was healing the sick and caring for the poor in spirit. The Pharisees did not agree. They understood that one keeps the Sabbath by ceasing totally from all physical labor, including what Jesus calls the work of the Lord.
As the Christian church developed, so did Christian education and corporate worship, which is how we continue to keep the Sabbath today. We, as the Christian church, keep the Sabbath by ceasing or sacrificing our regular schedule and resting from the busyness of our lives. We attend Sunday school and worship where we embrace and feast upon God's presence in our lives.
Sacrificing on the Sabbath
Read aloud Numbers 28:9-10. These verses explain that an extra or doubling of offerings is required for the people of Israel to keep the Sabbath. Think about what, if anything, you sacrifice on the Sabbath and list your responses in the space below.
Keeping Time Holy on the Sabbath
The idea that the Sabbath is not just for Sunday is not a new one. Sabbath can be observed at any time of the week you choose. As it is with other disciplines such as fasting, Sabbath is not just about what we don't do but about what we choose to do with our time. In ceasing from the schedule of our everyday lives, we free up time to truly rest, to embrace wholly our relationship with God, and to feast on God's presence in our lives. There is a sense, then, that we can somehow regain that time we spend on unfocused busyness to sanctify it and make it holy. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his book The Sabbath, shares this idea about regaining our time and making it holy when he calls the Sabbath, "a palace in time which we build." Take some time to think about how you make your time holy on the Sabbath.
Holy Play on the Sabbath
The Sabbath is God's gift to us so that we will always have a day to rest, play, and enjoy God's amazing creation. Resting on the Sabbath does not mean sitting on the couch for twenty-four hours. Do you remember the last time you set aside a day for absolutely nothing? Do you have any hobbies or interests that you simply don't have time for? How might you experience God's rest while you spend time on your hobby? List below any hobbies you have been neglecting or have a desire to start. Talk to one another about those hobbies.
Take some time to reflect on how you keep the Sabbath and answer these questions:
♦ How do you rest on the Sabbath?
♦ What do you embrace on the Sabbath?
♦ How do you feast on the Sabbath?
Marva J. Dawn (Sabbath Wholly) suggests that the main benefit of keeping Sabbath is that we cease trying to be God in our lives and let God care for us. List the benefits you now receive from keeping the Sabbath. What might be holding you back from enjoying the full benefits of holy rest and play?
Involving
What kind of ripples might (or have) come about from practicing keeping the Sabbath? How could your daily routine change by the transformation taking place in your soul? Discuss how you might see all areas of your life—home, school, nature, community, world, job, paying bills, and so forth—connected in a new way based on your spiritual formation journey.
Tomorrow
√ Before going to bed this Saturday night, read Exodus 31:13-17 and reflect on the busyness and work of your week. Make a list of ways you will cease from your work and truly rest on Sunday. Pray that God will give you the strength and ability to rest. On Sunday night write down your thoughts on what, if any, difference your Saturday night preparation made in helping you keep the Sabbath.
√ Observe a time of Sabbath during the week if Sunday is too busy with church activities. On your chosen day of Sabbath, spend time doing the thing you love and thank God for the gift of Sabbath.
√ Schedule a Sabbath retreat for your group. Invite a mentor to come and lead you in devotions and prayer. Spend an entire weekend basking in the love of God.
This is one of forty-four life-forming practices from Soul Tending edited by Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster, Nashville, TN, Abingdon Press, 2002. Reprinted with permission. Click here to buy the book.
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