Recovering Sabbath
Rev. Arionne Yvette Williams, Contributing Writer
Leviticus 25:2-4 says, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.” The first time I noticed this text I was amazed.
Was God telling the children of Israel that even their land needed a Sabbath? Why? In the larger context of the story, God called them out of slavery in Egypt and led them into the wilderness, preparing them to inhabit the Promised Land, shaping them into who they were meant to be. They were Sabbath-people, created by a Sabbath-keeping God who famously-created the entire universe in six days and took PTO at the end of the week.
The Jews had been through a tumultuous experience of slavery under an impossible-to-please, anxiety-ridden, harsh, and combative ruler, Pharaoh. Since he was terrified of not having enough, Pharaoh had worked them to the bone, relentlessly demanding they produce an endless supply of goods that Egypt did not actually need. It was a nightmare. It was an oppressive and never-ending cycle of work that was impossible to sustain.
Nevertheless, God had delivered them. God had called them out from up under the weight of Pharaoh’s demands and was now showing them a new way to live, making them a new people as Sabbath-keepers who reserved time to rest because their new ruler (God) commanded rest and not constant work. God was so serious about the Sabbath that yes, even their land needed rest.
Yet, what does this mean for us today? In a word, everything! The practice of Sabbath, in my view, is one of the richest inheritances that Christians have received from the Jewish tradition. We, too, have been called to be Sabbath-keepers. This constant grinding of the #NoDaysOff and #TeamNoSleep world in which we live often sucks us into its mania and is in direct conflict with who God calls us to be.
We are called to the Sabbath. By that, we mean taking an actual day to rest without meetings or work at all. Sabbath is a time for restoration which can mean sleeping or time with family and friends, devotion, recreation, and reflecting.
Three years ago, God called me to consider this aspect of my own crazy-busy and never-stopping life. In this experience, I have seen incredible benefits. When I practice the Sabbath, I am more rested and can be more productive during the other six days. I am more organized, creative, and resourceful. In short, I am able to bring a better me to everything I do and to all the people around me. It has been both faith-deepening and fruit-bearing.
I can’t tell you how to live but it is my hope that you will consider how you might recover the Sabbath in your life. I encourage you to trust God’s way over the way of our world. God has freed us from the chaos of a life that never stops going and has gifted us with rest, restoration, and peace. How will you respond to that gift?
