Sabbath?

In these times of busyness and constant movement, what does the idea of “Sabbath” mean?

Biblically, the Sabbath is a reminder to people to:
• honour God; and
• take time to rest and recreate for their roles and responsibilities in family and community.
It is about recognising who we are as creatures of God (i.e. beings created by God)—mortal and subject to the vagaries of physical existence (“Remember we are dust and to dust we shall return.”) as well as gifted with the image and glory of God. It is about acknowledging the rhythms and seasons of the creation of which we are a part; and seeking to live in balance with the created life we have been given.

In our world, many people have jobs which mean that they must work on Saturday and/or Sunday. Does this mean they are “violating the Sabbath”? It is too simplistic to ask this question in terms of the days on which we work or when we worship. Even in the Christian understanding of biblical and liturgical (worship) time, Saturday is the Sabbath. Sunday is the “first” and the “eighth” day—the day of creation and of the new creation (resurrection).

The question is better asked in terms of whether we are taking time to honour God and to become attuned to the gifts and call of God; and whether we are taking time to rest and recreate for our roles and responsibilities in society and community. It makes sense healthwise as well as theologically; but then our health is a part of our createdness. So, what about you—are you taking time to honour God, to rest and recreate?

I’ve been starting to watch the local gardening columns to become more familiar with the rhythms of plant life in this place; and enjoying watching the changes of the leaf colour as we move through Autumn. As a physical season, Autumn is a reminder to prepare for the cold, make sure our garden beds are well-prepared for the winter, check that food is stored for the resource-scarce time. It comes for us in Australia in the liturgical season of Easter when we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and remembering Christ’s resurrection as a foretaste of the final consummation of all things in God. What do we need to do to celebrate who Christ is, what Christ has accomplished and our expectation of the fulfilment of God’s promises in Christ when all things are enfolded into God?