Shabbat!

Jess: Wes gave a pretty decent sermon on the Sabbath this last Sunday. It really got me thinking about how we treat the Sabbath day. Then it got me thinking—what IS the Sabbath?

What is the day of rest that we have after seven days of work? I think for many people, this is Saturday. They work Monday-Friday and perhaps have had activities on Sunday. For others, maybe Sunday is the Sabbath. I know that for awhile, my mom and Chris were attending Saturday night services because that gave them all of Sunday to be in rest.

For Wes and I, at least for this coming year, Thursday will be our Sabbath. Although I firmly believe that the day in which we come together to worship can be Sabbath, that is just not the case for pastors. Sunday is a workday—perhaps the biggest workday of all. It is the day toward which the rest of the week looks, and the day on which much of the work done throughout that week culminates. So we will be observing our Sabbath on Thursdays.

What does Sabbath mean for us today, though? There are many, many laws and regulations regarding the Sabbath in Jewish law and history. We even have some perceived laws regarding Sundays in Christianity today. I know my family always went out to eat on Sunday afternoons. By the time we got out of church and into “regular” clothes, no one wanted to think about cooking. So part of our restfulness included not cooking for ourselves—we also usually had leftovers for dinner. Yet our Sabbath meant that someone else was not having a Sabbath. Part of God’s law says, “On [the Sabbath], you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.” God goes on to say that God rested, and so should we.

One of my biggest struggles with Sabbath is determining what constitutes Sabbath for myself and my family. If even the resident alien is not supposed to work, should I go to Starbucks, forcing this stranger to make coffee for me? Yet by not going to Starbucks, I don’t change the fact that it is open.  If my Sabbath day continues to be Thursday for years, but James needs help with homework, does that mean that  I cannot help him? Is that too much work?

It is easy to get bogged down by the rules of Sabbath—whether those that God clearly states or those we create for our own sake. But the purpose of Sabbath is clear: we are called to break from our routine of work as God did. Resting rejuvenates us, so Sabbath is about doing that which accomplishes this. For an introvert, that might mean reading a book alone. For Wes and I, who are apart all week, it might mean a date—or time spent with James. For the manual laborer, it means resting his or her hands. For the person who sits inside all day, maybe it means spending time in nature.

The point is, no matter what our routine, God calls us to take a break from it each week. This is for our own good, for the sake of our relationship with God, and for the sake of others. Wes and I will continue to wrestle with what Sabbath means for us throughout this year and beyond, and we invite you to share your struggles and joys as well!

Wes: Did everyone see that Jess said I gave a decent sermon? Let the record show. 

If anyone would like to see that sermon, it--along with all of my other sermons at KUMC!--can be found on my other blog, here. I don't actually know if anyone watches them. Since I started sharing the video clip, the few and far between comments that I used to get altogether disappeared. But, if you want to check it out, there it is. 

So Sabbath for me is a weird time. I feel like I have to work to rest, which doesn't make any sense. I totally get the idea that we have to prepare for a full day of rest--such as making sure meals are planned out (if you're into that) and all the work that might need to be done is done the day before--but that's different than having to actively work at not working or breaking out of your regular routine. 

One of the ways we've tried as a family to do this is to limit our electronics usage on our Sabbath day. This seems to be harder for me than it is for Jess. I honestly don't feel super attached to Facebook, and I don't feel the need to reply immediately every time I receive a text, but I do enjoy being connected with others and being able to be in constant dialogue with my friends. It's one of the ways that I maintain my extrovertivity. (Yes, I made up a word. Go with it). So it's harder for me to put my phone away and not think about it. This is the part of Sabbath that takes some work on my part. 

Other aspects of Sabbath are not as taxing. One of the things that has been rather nice about our Sabbaths this summer is that I've used many of them to complete projects around the house. Now, this might sound weird, as many (even myself) consider this to be working, but in a very real way, these projects--like building a bookshelf for James and fixing the backyard fence--allow me to spend some time working my hands and making something for the world to see, which is something that my day-to-day job rarely allows. 

My brother, Tomas, didn't really understand this when I told him about it. He works full-time for a re-modeling company, putting up sheet rock and wall paper. He works with his hands on a daily basis. So when I told him that this kind of activity is rewarding and rejuvenating for me, it didn't make sense. For him, taking a day to read a good book or spend around people doing nothing is a wonderful break from routine, whereas I spend most of my week reading in preparation for preaching/teaching and in community with others. This is time well spent for me, and I absolutely love it, but a Sabbath full of the same type of activity as any other day is not really a Sabbath. 

Well, Jess gave a wonderful little lesson on what the Sabbath is. I just spouted out words about it for a little while. I hope at least part of this is edifying for you and helps you in your own walk as you try to live out God's commandment to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. 

For now, though, you stay classy, World Wide Web!

-wes and jess