When memorizing the Ten Commandments as a child in parochial school, I solemnly pledged to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” For a Christian girl like me, these verses meant, “Go to church and Sunday school on Sundays.” Thankfully, as I grew, my faith deepened, and my views about Sabbath matured. I no longer equate the Sabbath with church attendance. Instead, the Sabbath follows God’s command to rest, a rest that ceases work and engages in life-enriching activities.
What is a Sabbath?
The idea of Sabbath rest first appears in Genesis where we read “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (2:3). Moses records that the Lord sanctified the Sabbath, commanding His people to rest on that day (Exo 20). In the Gospels, we read that Jesus Christ redefines the Sabbath, yet Hebrews confirms, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his” (4:9-10). Thus, God’s command to observe a Sabbath rest emerges throughout the Scriptures.
Addressing Sabbath rest, Dallas Willard, in The Great Omission, notes that the command recorded in Genesis is “Do no work. Just make space. Attend to what is around you. Learn that you don't have to do to be. Accept the grace of doing nothing.” To summarize Willard, “Take a break! Cease work!” Sabbath rest invites God’s people to ignore the to-do list, silence the phone, resist unread emails, and turn off the news. Removing these and other distractions creates opportunities to enjoy His presence and blessings, reflect on His work, and consider His will. Doing so encourages God’s people to abide and trust in Him. It enables rest.
What Does a Sabbath Include?
In addition to a break from work, Sabbath rest includes spiritually-enriching activities. Ernest Palen, cited in Herbert Saunder’s The Sabbath: Symbol of Creation and Re-creation, refers to the Sabbath as a “day when our thoughts are of God,” and our actions “tempered by a desire to serve God and our families,” a day “so different from other days that it could make us different”—both in our relationship to God and to our fellow humans. Acts of worship, prayer, and Scripture reading during Sabbath rest turn the day’s focus to God and foster a deeper relationship with Him. Spending time with family, visiting with friends, and caring for those with needs allows us to extend God’s love and grace in service to people around us. These activities invite God into our Sabbath rest.
What Does a Sabbath Do?
Tish Warren contemplates in Liturgy of the Ordinary, "What if Christians were known as the countercultural community of the well-rested—people who embrace our limits with zest and even joy?” The people of God benefit by following the pattern of God to rest and reflect. As we observe this respite, earthly work ceases, and life-enriching activities begin. True Sabbath rest restores the body, feeds the soul, and renews the mind. It allows imperfect, hurried, and distracted people to connect to God and one another.
Decades ago, I promised to remember the Sabbath, and, although that promise still stands, the Sabbath looks different now. Yes, I still attend church, but the Sabbath no longer ends with the final song. Instead, it continues with a goal, not of resting perfectly, but, as Shelly Miller notes in Rhythms of Rest, “resting in the One who is perfect.”
