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Heschel's thoughts on Sabbath and Eternity

"The law of the Sabbath tries to direct thebody and the mind to the dimension of the holy."
What is the Sabbath? Spirit in the form of time.With our bodies we belong to space; our spirit, our souls, soar to eternity, aspire to the holy. The Sabbath is an ascent to the summit."

"The seventh day is a reminder that God is our father, that time is life and the spirit our mate.





Sabbath Number One- Remembering

My first attempt in participating in Sabbath since the beginning of my class was this weekend. I have been thinking about two specific approaches towards the practices of Sabbath. The first is the consumer approach, which seems all too familiar. It seems too easy to add something new by reading the newest book, buying a new Bible, or even starting a new hobby that portrays itself as restful. I find myself thinking of the several new formalities that I would like to try in my attempt to practice Sabbath. The other approach is what my teacher Phil calls "meaningful connections." This entails incorporating what I already have and know towards potential practices of Sabbath. Essentially growing practices and rhythms I already have. With the second approach in mind, I have thought about this question proposed by Dan Allender in regards to Sabbath, "What would you do for a twenty-four-hour period of time if the only criteria was to pursue your deepest joy?" Here some things that come to mind and also are current rhythms I hope to grow in:
photography
music
relationships
nature
feasting with others
playing with children

So in my first attempt to engage with Sabbath, I focused connecting with the goodness of God through pursuing places/people/hobbies where I have experienced deep joy. In attempt to journal on this day of Sabbath, I made a creative video in which some of these things are displayed! Most of the photos are small windows in to how God has allowed me to see and experience the world. Which is one thing I love about photography and being able to potentially express the way I see the world!



Sabbath Morning Liturgy


To God who rested from all action on the seventh day
and ascended upon His throne of glory.
He vested the day of rest with beauty;
He called Sabbath a delight.
This is the song and the praise of the seventh day,
on which God rested from His work.
The seventh day itself is uttering praise.
A song of the Sabbath day:
"It is good to give thanks unto the Lord!"
Therefore, all the creatures of God bless Him.

The Sabbath teaches all being whom to praise.




Wendell Berry- A Timbered Choir

1979-VII

What if, in the high, restful sanctuary
That keeps the memory of Paradise,
We're followed by the drone of history
And greed's poisonous fumes still burn our eyes?

Disharmony recalls us to our work.
From Heavenly work of light and wind and leaf
We must turn back into the peopled dark
Of our unraveling century, the grief

Of waste, the agony of haste and noise.
It is a hard return from Sabbath rest
To lifework of the fields, yet we rejoice,
Returning, less condemned in being blessed

By vision of what human work can make:
A harmony between forest and field,
The world as it was given for love's sake,
The world by love and loving work revealed

As given to our children and our Maker.
In that healed harmony the world is used
But not destroyed, the Giver and the taker
Joined, the taker blessed, in the unabused

Gift that nurtures and protects. Then workday
And Sabbath live together in one place.
Though mortal, incomplete, that harmony
Is our one possibility of peace.

When field and woods agree, they make a rhyme
That stirs in distant memory the whole
First Sabbath's song that no largess of time
Or hope or sorrow wholly can recall.

But harmony of earth is Heaven-made,
Heaven-making, is promise and is prayer,
A little song to keep us unafraid,
An earthly music magnified in air.

The Beginning

I am beginning a new journey in learning more about the practices of Sabbath. I am currently a student as Mars Hill Graduate School and believe it or not...they offer a spiritual formation class around Sabbath. I signed up for this class in hopes to learn practices for self care and connection with God. Right from the start of class, I was reminded of how Sabbath is the fourth commandment. This struck me because I am curious when this practice became an option in the culture I am apart of. I am looking forward to entering the time in which God declares holy.