Today, Saturday (this won’t upload until Monday at work
because my apartment is slow to fix my internet access), is typically not
referred to anymore as the Sabbath. This
has become part of the Western concept of the cycle of work because the
beginning stories of the Bible record how early Hebrew people recounted the
creation of the universe – and it ended with God resting and declaring that it
was good. So we get some time off at the
end of the week.
I remember my small hometown would shut down on Sundays and all
but roll up the streets. As a little
kid, Sunday after church we had to go straight home to eat or go to some family
member’s house because there was nothing open, nowhere to eat, you couldn’t
even buy a gallon of milk at the store because it was closed. As a pre-teen, we started to eat after church
at the Pizza Hut which had just opened.
It quickly became a tradition. I
remember the first time I was sent into the grocery store with money to buy
milk after church. I remember
quizzically objecting, “Isn’t it closed on Sundays?” Not anymore.
Nowadays, the only store I really want something from on Sundays is the
only store that’s closed on Sundays – come on, why can’t I remember that
Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits are available on all days EXCEPT Sundays?
My Bible study this week closed out with a reminder to take
a Sabbath rest. But taking a day off is
easy. Staying out of stores you need
something from (or crave a chicken biscuit from) is difficult when you have the
day off and others don’t. The author of
the study didn’t stop at challenging us to take a Sabbath rest – he challenged
us to “reflect and celebrate” what the week has brought, what we have created,
and who we are because of our created-ness.
The hard part of what he asked – that I will not be doing – was to stay
home, require no work of someone else, and enjoy being with family.
I had a friend in seminary who became Jewish, moved to L.A.,
and married a Rabbi all within a few months.
It was exciting to see her go on a journey toward expressing outwardly
where she had already moved inwardly.
Her new Sabbath practices were instructive for me, too. No turning on lights you didn’t need, no
sweating, no walking/driving farther than a set limit, and spending a lot of
time eating tasty food, talking with friends and family, and reflecting on the
goodness of God. I have to admit that
the way it changed my perspective made me consider making the switch to
the ancient side of the Good Book.
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