Sabbath

I think the first time I ever really heard about Sabbath and semi-comprehended it was in third grade when we read the Little House on the Prairie Series, in which the character Laura complained about how boring the Sabbath was because they weren't allowed to play as children. They simply sat around and listened to scripture being read and hymns being sung. I didn't really give it another thought until I was in college and I read Mark Buchanan's The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, which is a powerful book which I highly recommend.

What I'm finding as a pastor in a very busy parish is that taking Sabbath is hard. It is hard because it seems like everyone wants a little piece of your time (in fact I don't feel like any of my time is actually mine anymore, but that is a different post on a different day). But it is also hard because your rhythm of Sabbath is so different from everyone else's.

When I was little, Sunday was the day for Church. We went to Sunday School and church. Had a family dinner of some sorts. Went to bell choir and youth group as we got older. If we stopped to shop for anything it was a Sunday paper and something simple for lunch if my dad was in charge. As a whole we really didn't venture outside of the home for anything other then church. And I have fond memories of those times. But Sunday is not the day for the preacher to find rest in the Lord. Or at least I don't. Between 3 services and then rotating between 3 different Sunday night activities (4 now during Lent with the additional cluster services), I do not find that time to be my time with God.

A while ago I was talking with some of the other individuals I was commissioned with and one of the women made a beautiful observation: there is a difference between a day to worship God and day to run errands. When describing my schedule to another young clergy he made the observation that I really need to stop going at the pace I am, and that it is okay to ask for, if not demand, two days off in a row. One to simply be with God and restore your body and soul, and one to run errands. The two cannot be combined.

After being blessed with this advice I have really been trying to separate Sabbath from daily living items, which is hard. But this led me to conclude that the reason people willingly break the commandment to keep the Sabbath is because it is hard. Very hard in fact. We are raised in a culture that tells us that we should be doing something productive every moment of every day. So to simply be in the presence of God, totally setting aside those things where we are working for the goal of being productive, is counter intuitive. But a beautiful thing when practiced. It is a necessary thing for everyone, but most certainly cannot be skipped out on by the pastor, who lives a public life and needs time to simply not be "on". Not be something to someone else, but to be who we are at our very core, a child of God.