We’ve all
heard the studies and statistics. Rest and relaxation are crucial to a healthy
and productive life. Sleep can impact memory, metabolism, immune systems, and can
even inspire creativity! Moreover, rest
is necessary for a healthy life. A vacation produces the same benefits as sleep,
and also increases productivity. Taking time off reduces likelihood of burnout
and brings new perspectives on work and daily life.
Rest is also
a spiritual discipline. Sabbath is a
day of rest, observed every week, for intentional relaxation, renewal, and growing
in relationship with God. The concept of Sabbath is grounded in two solid Biblical
concepts. The first is creation: God made the universe in
six days, and on the seventh day, God rested. If rest was important for God,
then it is also important for
us. The second Biblical reason for Sabbath is gratitude for God’s work in our lives and respect for God’s authority.
We
rest because God rested. And we rest because God freed us from slavery
and gave us the luxury of time off of work.
Christians
sometimes lament the secularization of our day of rest and worship. You may
remember a time when stores were not open on Sundays, when there were no sports
tournaments or liquor sales on the first day of the week, when no one had to
work.
Though, let
me clue you in on something. As I pastor, I can assure you, there have always been people working on Sundays.
And it’s not
just church professionals who work on Sunday. Police officers and firefighters
have always worked on Sundays. Praise God! I would hate for my house to burn
down because it caught fire on a Sunday instead of a Monday. Health care
professionals have always worked on Sundays. Even when clinics aren’t open, emergency
rooms are. Nursing homes are.
And forget
rest from professional endeavors – if your Sunday routine growing up was going
to church and coming home to a wonderful meal that the whole family shared
together – who made that meal? Who did the dishes? It is not restful for most
of us to prepare a meal for a dozen of our closest loved ones! Someone in the
family had to work very hard in order for the rest of the family to have a day
off.
Sundays have
traditionally been a day of rest for Christians. But there have always been
people who work on Sundays. So, we have a paradox: commandment to keep the
Sabbath, but the reality of daily life that requires some of us to work on what
should be our day off.
How to
resolve the paradox? Here’s what I think.
First, the
day on which you observe the Sabbath is less important than the fact of observing it. If you work every
Sunday, turn Fridays or Mondays into your Sabbath. Pick a day of the week, and
set that day aside for no work to be done.
Second, observe
the Sabbath in ways that draw you closer to God. Yes, join a community for
worship every week. And also, get some fresh air. Find God in nature. Spend time
with family or friends who show you God’s unconditional love. Read or meditate
or do whatever draws you into meaningful relationship with your creator.
First – take
a day of rest.
Second –
fill that day only with things that help you know God more deeply.
It’s
tempting to work on our day off – catch up on email, run just a few errands,
schedule an appointment. Don’t do it. The way to emulate God, to show gratitude
to God, and to follow God’s commands, is to take a day of rest. Every week.
The rewards
are monumental.
If
you stop trampling the Sabbath,
stop doing whatever you want on my holy day,
and consider the Sabbath a delight,
sacred to the Lord, honored…
then
you will take delight in the Lord.
I will let you ride on the heights of the
earth;
I will sustain you with the heritage of your
ancestor Jacob.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
(Isaiah 58:13-14 NRSV)
Take a day of rest. Use it to
grow closer to God. And God promises to be there in your busy days and in your
restful days, for all eternity.
For a wonderful message on Sabbath, rest, and
self-care, see this message by the Rev. Kanyere Eaton: God is not glorified by your chronic exhaustion
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