The Sabbaths of Yesterday
I happen to be writing this on a Monday. Technically speaking, according to my faith tradition and the way I live my life, yesterday was my Sabbath.
I…
- woke up and showered before church (a morning with time to shower is a restful morning indeed)
- traveled (by vehicle) to a church gathering with my parents and grandparents, to meet my sisters.
- used my computer to find directions to the church gathering
- called my older sister on the phone to make sure she had the proper directions
- sat in the building (which was using electricity for a number of things)
- tried to help a kid save his balloon and in the process fell and bruised my entire knee
- went out to eat at our favorite restaurant, causing our favorite waitress to work, not to mention the cooks and the electricity.
- Went home, opened the freezer and iced my knee
- watched a movie and responded to some emails
- texted some people before finally falling to sleep.
That’s only ten things… but I’m pretty sure each of them (except maybe the part where I created the massive hematoma on my knee (save that it was creation, which is technically against the rules)) was running, in some way, contrary to the Sabbath laws observed by our Jewish friends.
But…
We’re out from under the strict observation of the Sabbath now, aren’t we? We live under a spirit of freedom from the law, not slavery to it… We are no longer restricted by rules prohibiting turning on water and light switches and using phones and opening freezer doors and traveling more than a certain distance (and even then, only by foot).
I get that… I’m all about the spirit of freedom… I’m a firm advocate of being set free from bondage to the law. And I went through a period in my life when I read Galatians almost daily, and learned to pull it out and use it as my defense when people tried to tie me to legalistic observances of laws. Oh, how I understand “if the law could make us right with God, then Christ’s death would be useless.”
I get it.
I do.
But this morning before work, I was sitting and reading a new book; the author– she converted from Judaism to Christianity, and oh how she loves Jesus and the resurrection, but how she misses some of the practices of her Judaism. And she offers that maybe she’s not the only one missing them… maybe we’re missing them, too. We who have never been Jewish, but have a part of us that longs for connection with God through the practice of rituals… a desire that we may never know until we find ourselves accidentally struck with it.
I came the closest to losing my faith when I went away to Bible College.
I’m beginning to realize that maybe I really did lose my faith, and maybe it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It’s a post for another day, but the point of it is this: what I found instead was a union with God in the spiritual practices, in the rituals, in getting back to the basics. In books of prayers and scheduled fasting and getting up and going through the motions. It brought me back to God… back to a bigger God than the one I thought I’d believed in.
That to say, the author’s first chapter speaks of the Sabbath and how easily we fail to keep it holy. She speaks of her recent Christian Sabbath (and also of mine), saying “my Sunday was more an afternoon off than a Sabbath. It was an add-on to a busy week, not the fundamental unit around which I organized my life. The Hebrew word for holy means, literally, “set apart.” In failing to live a Sabbath truly distinct from weekly time, I have violated a most basic command: to keep the Sabbath holy.“
I don’t know what to do.
What I know is that I had a few hours before getting to work this morning and was planning on getting through at least half of this book before then, but I could hardly finish twenty (short) pages before I had to put the book down to digest it. To wrestle for a bit and figure out whether I am going to somehow live differently as a result of this feeling I have right now, or if I’m going to stuff it under Monday’s obligations.
So I came here.
What does it look like, as a Christian out from under the obligation to observe the 39 categories to be forbidden while practicing the Sabbath, to live in a way that observes the holiness of the Sabbath as I reflect on the holiness of my God?
I loved this book a few years ago when I read it, and I need to read it again. I too “lost my faith” after a fashion, and have just recently rekindled it. In doing so, I have tried to make it truer to the long faith tradition that precedes me. I’ve tried to start using The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, and while I’m pretty sure I’m doing it completely wrong and half the time I can’t figure out what I’m even supposed to be reading, it has been encouraging. The tough part is trying to sustain it when none of the other Christians in my life are on board with it. How do you deal with this?
I think your a great person Melinda but stop making me think. It hurts my head. LOL. I have struggled with this for a long time myself. I was raised by seven day adventists and my Grandma and Uncle truly honor the sabbath. No work, tv, internet, nothing. I was annoyed by it as a non believer but admire it now. I especially have a hard time with football being on Sundays. It may be sad but I love it. Maybe one day I can break free of those chains but for now it’s a hard thing to even attempt.
To me Sabbath is about relationship with The Creator. I have struggled with how to observe the Sabbath ever since I began study on it about 9 years ago.
What I know to be true is that religion has placed more rules on the Sabbath than ever intended. We need to go to the Bible to see how we feel we may benefit from it the most. Not the Pharisees laws of not working or walking but what God said about it and how Jesus lived it out. Because no matter what the religion or denomination you follow there are still highly regulated ‘rules’ in religion over any subject of your choosing.
So do I work on Saturday? Yes, in my current life situation it is unavoidable. However, I choose to use the day on Saturday’s to focus on how my job enables me in helping others as Jesus also helped others on the Sabbath.
It all boils down to searching the Bible for the Spirit of the Law. What was truly intended?