Sabbath
“Sabbath-keeping is a resistance movement, and it’s very counter-cultural. Sabbath-keeping is a resistance to the clutter, the noise, the advertising, the busyness, and the ‘virtual living’ that sucks the life out of our lives. Sabbath-keeping is a resistance to constant production, and work, and accumulation. It may be the most difficult of the Ten Commandments to keep, and it may also be the most important.”—Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE, from “Brother, Give Us a Word,” a daily email sent to friends and followers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE.org).
Keeping Sabbath in our culture is more than difficult. I have one friend who rests completely on the Sabbath. She does nothing work-related, trying to spend as much time as possible outdoors. I am reminded of my grandparents, who followed this rule as well. My grandmother would not even do a little sewing on Sunday. I often spent Sundays with them. We ate, we rested, we walked around my grandfather’s farm, and we went to church. We watched the Ed Sullivan Show at night on the television after making Seven Up floats. I would then spend the night in their guest double bed, which seemed unbelievably huge at the time. I remember most of all the feeling of love and peace on these days. I wonder how much was related to Sabbath-keeping.
They mentored for me how to keep the Sabbath, but I have forgotten. I am an important person. I will never make those deadlines unless I do a little work on Sunday. A little turns into several hours’ worth. Once I start, it is hard to stop. I will rest later.
I want to keep the Sabbath. It is not too late to start. Join me. Let us encourage one another. Maybe we need a Sabbath recovery group to share stories with each other about what happens when we keep the Sabbath.
When I meet with people to offer spiritual direction, I try to ask them how they keep Sabbath. I am hoping to learn from them as much as to remind them of this spiritual gift, which is also the third commandment. It may be the only spiritual gift that is a commandment.
The Ten Commandments honor God, but also were given for our own health and safety. Sometimes it is helpful for me to view them not just as rules, but as guides to a healthy life—more important than diet and exercise.
Sabbath keeping is even more difficult during this pandemic when our usual practice to honor God now is often through a service live streamed from an empty church where we no long can see or feel our community that once surrounded and supported us. We only see the faces of our faith community at formation meetings through a computer or phone on Zoom. Our clergy are masked and stay distanced. Our Rally Day and animal blessings are drive-bys.
My experience is that our Sabbath keeping by necessity has now become more individual rather than community based. We spend more time writing, reading, praying, meditating, listening, walking, or talking one on one to others. If we can see this as a revival of old spiritual practices or starting new practices spending time with our Creator, it can become a new adventure that may carry over into life when it becomes “normal” again.
Joanna. joannaseibert.com
