Sabbath Number Two- Set Apart

What Sets This Day Apart

Unplugged

Make No Plans

Take Time To Observe

Interruptions

In another attempt to practice Sabbath, my husband and I wrestled throughout the day in desiring this day to be set apart from the others. We had somewhat planned a few days prior to allow Saturday to be the day we would engage with Sabbath. In our conversations in class, the concept of Holy-set apart has stuck with me. I spent Saturday constantly reminding myself and James what makes this day set apart? So first things first, we unplugged from our cell phones. Turning them off was refreshing...no obligations or interruptions, so we thought! We spent the day connecting with each other and ultimately with our Creator, with conversations and side by side activities. We decided that another way in which this day would be set apart would to have a "no plan" mentality. By turning off cell phones and allowing no obligations, time felt irrelevant. We got outside due to the beautiful weather and played tennis. I also found myself aware of the families and children playing around us in the park. Taking time to observe...another theme that I would like to incorporate into the rhythms of Sabbath. I watched children play with their imagination and wonder. Children are a gift and window to delight. As the day progressed, I found myself begin to think about all the obligations and things that needed to get done. I had to be intentional to tell myself that those things would have to wait until tomorrow. It is a commitment to protect the practices and rhythms of Sabbath. I began to realize this when our door bell rang. A man that has stopped by our house a few times had invited me to learn how to crochet and I had forgotten about my commitment. Henry is a man that is often misunderstood. I had to work through this misunderstanding myself as we welcomed him into our home. To be honest, I already know how to crochet...but God tugs on my heart when it comes to Henry. I spent an hour watching him crochet and tell stories about his abusive father that now rests in heaven. Henry also seems to have struggles mentally as he is slow in speaking his thoughts. Though this seemed to be an "interruption," Henry was apart of Sabbath. A perfect example of not judging a book by it's cover and allowing space for the unpredictable. I know that I miss so many opportunities and glimpses of God's character by my own biases and inability to let go of my comforts. Engaging with Sabbath is taking me outside of that comfort zone.

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!

Click here to view this video

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.