Practicing Sabbath
Creating a Sanctuary of Time Each Week
“A great benefit of Sabbath keeping is that we learn to let God take care of us — not by becoming passive and lazy, but in the freedom of giving up our feeble attempts to be God in our own lives.”
“Because we do not rest we lose our way.... Poisoned by the hypnotic belief that good things come only through unceasing determination and tireless effort, we can never truly rest. And for want of rest our lives are in danger.”
Biblical Foundations for Sabbath
Video from the Bible Project
The Gift of Sabbath
So when you hear the word Sabbath, what comes to mind? Do you think of rest, refreshment, worship, delight, joy, creativity, and intimacy?
Or by chance, do you have another set of words in mind, such as escape, self-care, and refueling, or inconvenience and interruption, or drudgery, obligation, and lack?
In all likelihood, your picture of Sabbath incorporates words from all four lists. That being said, only the first list truly captures the essence of what Sabbath is.
Sabbath is in fact the culmination of our week, just as the seventh day where God rested was the culmination of creation at the beginning of time. So unlike the people around us who orient their weeks to their work week, Christians orient their week to the day of Sabbath, a day itself that points to that time in the future when we will fully and completely enter into the Lord’s eternal rest made available to us in Jesus.
Thus, Sabbath is a shadow of what is to come and thus a pressing into and proclamation of our eternal hope in Jesus. When we engage in Sabbath, we engage in a step of faith and an act of resistance or subversion. Unlike the people around us, we say that our hope and true identity is not in what we do, and not in what we produce, and not in anything else for that matter. Our true hope and identity is in the Lord. We also say that we have faith in God and trust that we can rest from our work and all things will be okay. He will in fact help us to accomplish all that what we need do.
Thus, Sabbath is a gift from God for us to receive. It is a sanctuary in time where we cease from our paid work, school work, housework, and all other work that bogs us down and are invited to dwell in God’s presence in the here and now. Sabbath is a place of freedom, restoration, and healing where we find our identities in not what we do, but in who we are as children of God. Sabbath is a place of refreshment, letting go, and feeding our souls with community, beauty, creativity, rest, thanksgiving, worship, and delight in the Lord.
Sabbath points to a better way of being. Let us, therefore, embrace this beautiful gift and learn to practice Sabbath in our lives.
“Sabbath keeping is more than just taking a day of rest; it is a way of ordering one’s life around a pattern of working six days and then resting on the seventh. It is a way of arranging our life to honor the rhythm of things - work and rest, fruitfulness and dormancy, giving and receiving, being and doing, activism and surrender. The day itself is set apart, devoted completely to rest, worship and delighting in God, but the rest of the week must be lived in such a way as to make sabbath possible. Paid work needs to be contained to five days of the week. Household chores, shopping and errand-running need to be complete before the Sabbath comes, or they must wait. Courageous decisions need to be made about work and athletics, church, and community involvement. ”
“Sabbath is not a day simply filled up with “religious activities.” And it is also not a space where we escape from others to only focus on ourselves. Sabbath is an extended time period in our week when we receive the good gifts God has given us (including our friends, family, homes, hobbies, nature, and Himself). It is a time when we deeply commune with God and others . As we do this, we become more aware of who God created us to be and we move into a posture of thanksgiving and worship. ”
How to Practice Sabbath
1) As Ruth Haley Barton says in the above quote, the first step of practicing Sabbath is intentionally ordering your weeks, setting up boundaries, and making courageous decisions about when to say “yes” and when you say “no” so that when the Sabbath day comes, you can fully enter into it.
2) Then you must choose which day of the Week you will practice Sabbath. Sunday is the ideal day, but for some of us, Sunday is a work day, so for example, I take my Sabbaths on Friday. If possible, choose the same day each week; this will help greatly with your practice of keeping the Sabbath. For some of you, with shifting schedules, you are going to have to intentionally choose each week which day your Sabbath day will be once you know your schedule.
3) When your Sabbath day comes, cease from all paid work, school work, housework, and all activity that bogs you down. Unplug from your compulsions (whatever those may be - for some, that will be checking Facebook constantly, binge watching t.v., checking email, etc.)
4) If possible, practice a full 24 hour Sabbath; this is how you will be able to enter into this fullness and beauty of this practice. But if this practice is new to you , perhaps start with a shorter period of time as you begin to learn this practice. Or if you have very little control over your schedule in this season, perhaps practice a shorter period of time, as well, for this season. Do make sure it is still an extended period of time, however. For example when I have skipped Sabbath and just taken a couple of hours here and there, I have not been able to enter into Sabbath rest and delights, and I have found myself to be pretty tired as I entered into a new week. So finding a significant chunk of time in the week is important to being able to engage this practice.
5) Consider beginning your Sabbath with a regular practice. For example, Ruth Haley Barton suggests lighting a candle at the start of the Sabbath and speaking out all one’s anxieties, worries, and lists of tasks to be done; giving them over to the Lord; and letting go.
6) Enter into Sabbath rest and incorporate community into that rest, for the Sabbath is not meant to be a self-centered time, but a time to commune deeply with the Lord and others. Here are some ways you spend your time:
Take a hike.
Go for a run.
Take a nap.
Enjoy a sport you like with friends and family.
Engage in some kind of creative expression, like writing, painting, photography, drawing, knitting, sewing, wood-working,etc.
Play games with friends and family.
Read a good book.
Spend time in your garden.
Enjoy a good meal or conversation with others.
Show hospitality and care for others.
Attend church and share a meal with others from your community after the service is over.
Pray and engage other spiritual practices to be with the Lord.
7) Work for a world where everyone can practice Sabbath! The injustices and oppressive systems of our world prevent many people from practicing Sabbath. If these people are going to provide the basics of food, clothing, and shelter for themselves and their families, they will have to work constantly. And there there are the slaves of this world - yes, they exist! Unfortunately human trafficking and slavery is a huge problem in our world. So, work for a world where poverty, slavery, and all manner of injustice is eliminated so everyone can practice Sabbath!
Other Resources for Engaging Sabbath
Sermon on Hebrews 4 and Sabbath by Rev. Kristen and Reflection Questions
Chapter on Sabbath in “Sacred Rhythms” by Ruth Haley Barton
Perspectives Video: Talk and Discussion on Sabbath by Emily Bingham and Notes for Talk