When most of us hear the word "Sabbath" we think of Old Testament laws and rules. We view those things as a bit of a drag to everday life. But we need to change our thinking about such things. This weekend Grant Fredrickson (the youth Pastor at SDBC) and myself (along with four other great leaders) took six graduates down to the Oregan Coast for a celebration of their graduation from high school and initiation into adulthood. It was an amazing time. It was challenging for me as Erin and Sienna were not able to come (which makes me wonder about Turkey--13 days away from them!) and I missed them like crazy. But I was able to enjoy the trip despite their absence. What was most important about the trip for me aside from the times where we were able to affirm and pray for each graduate, was that it was a weekend away; it was a weekend without telephones, internet, or TV. It was a weekend where my work was people--talking, laughing, eating. Many who went on the trip likely feel tired, because we were up late, sleeping in tents, being wet with rain, and driving for hours each day (it takes 9 hours to drive there)--but amazingly I feel rested. I feel like I just took a four day sabbath, where I was able to just be. And that is what Sabbath is about--being, enjoying God, resting, being with the family of God, eating meals together, reflecting on what God is doing in our lives.
Unfortunately Sabbath has been abandoned by our culture. But what do we expect from a culture defined by liberal-democratic-capitalism? To close the doors of a store for a day is devastating to business, thus Western culture, though it is "built on Judeo-Christina values" (though I am not sure this is as true as some think it is), has abadoned sabbath for business. But my concern here is not a critique of of the Western-dehumanizing machine of the corporatation, but of our personal responsibility to God, to ourselves and to our loved ones to simply rest. To stop and reflect on the week, prepare for the coming week, and enjoy. To rest. This weekend the noises stopped, the buzzing was muted and the emails simply went unanswered, and amazingly the world did not collapse, the church is still standing and Jesus is still at work in the world.
The Bible has a concept of justice and sabbath called Jubilee, where every fifty years God called the Israelites to rest for one year. They would have to stop tilling the land, to allow the land to rest and heal, they would set free any slaves they owend, and they would forgive any debt of money that someone owed them. You see Sabbath is a gift. God recognizes that society needs to stop and forgive a debt once in a while (Third-world debt to the Western world that will never be paid?), people need to be set free from oppression, people need rest in order to function. Human beings were not made to be actively working 7 days a week--only six, and then rest. This week I felt the power of Sabbath, with two elements standing out most prominently: relationship and worship. That is what we were made for (Gen.1-2). The Oregan Coast is a beautfil thing: waves crashing into rocks, beaches, and even desert that spans as far as the eye can see--I met God in Oregan this weekend and he held me in his arms as I rested.
1 comment:
Nice post Mark! There is such a need for rest in our lives - God made us, he knows our bodies and minds - and he created the world and its need of rest.
I find weve been bombarded with messages of prosperity, and ambition - that if you waste a whole day doing nothing you are wasting your potential earning power and you will be faltering toward that next rung on the ladder. In Japan it is common for people to work six days a week for 14 hours a day, so that on their day off all they can do is sleep - all for the comfort of their family.
I need to hear the message that there is value in relationships, value in introspection, and value in rest. God, give us an eternal perspective - help us build on the foundation with stones and not hay.
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