Sabbath, in the first instance,
is not about worship. It is about a work stoppage. It is about withdrawal from
the anxiety system of Pharaoh, the refusal to let one’s life be defined by
production and consumption and the endless pursuit of private well-being. Walter Brueggemann
The way of mammon (capital,
wealth) is the way of the commodity, that is the way of endless desire, endless
productivity, and endless restlessness without any Sabbath. Jesus taught his
disciples that they could not have it both ways. Walter Brueggemann
Re-read the above two quotes
today and prayerfully ponder your response.
Some reading this can remember Blue Laws in their community growing up,
where nothing was open on Sundays, except the church. The church cornered the market on people’s
attention. So, the church filled Sundays
with worship, Bible Study, and youth fellowship. Richard Rohr comments that when Christianity arrived in America, it became a business, and we have the meetings to prove it. What if the church encouraged
Sundays or at least one day during the week to be a day of rest? To stop cleaning, racing, and running around, trying to appease the Pharaohs of today.
What would that look like or feel like?
Brueggemann goes on to suggest
that we have a restlessness to keep on, but our restlessness can only find
wholeness in God, who ceases to create during the week.
If taking one full day is too
much, maybe it is half of one day or an hour twice a week. What will you do? Short answer: nothing! Long answer: spend time with God, slowly eat
your food, take a nap, and notice your breathing.
May these words continue to
guide us as we seek this September to find a sacred pace to life. Amen.
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