A Beginner’s Guide to Sabbath

I have one clergy friend who, when he started at a new church, informed the office staff that Fridays would not be his “day off” but instead his “Sabbath.” One of them replied, “Did we get a Jewish pastor?”

I have another clergy friend who once told me that if he informed his supervisory board that he had trouble keeping the sixth commandment (“Don’t kill”), they’d have him arrested. But if he confided that he struggled keeping the fourth (“Remember the Sabbath”), none of them would bat an eye.

These are just two examples of how we live in a world—even in our religious circles–that doesn’t know what to do with Sabbath. Isn’t it simply a day off? And an optional one, at that?

Jewish rabbi Abraham Heschel writes, “The Sabbath is not for the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of the Sabbath. It is not an interlude but the climax of living.” I love this. When we treat Sabbath as a day of retreat or refuel so that we can go right back into the fray and the hustle, we get it all backward.

When God made the world, God did it in six days. And then God rested. Because God was tired and needed a break? Probably not. It was the moment that everything was in its right place, and that was a moment to celebrate. Sabbath is a time to kick back, relax, and enjoy what all of the work was for in the first place: living. God made the world so that God could enjoy the world.

I think this is a revolutionary way of thinking about Sabbath.

So where does one start a healthy practice of Sabbath? I confess: the conceit of this website, “The Sabbath Life,” comes out of a place of my own struggle. I haven’t figured it out. I’m muddling through it, week to week. But these are a couple of things I’m working on.

Make it holy.

In the creation account of Genesis 1, the only thing called “holy” is the Sabbath. Not even humanity, made in God’s image. That’s worth a serious pause.

That the Sabbath is “holy” means that it is different. We do things differently on the Sabbath. So we don’t work, as we do on the weekdays, but it’s more than a day off. We don’t work so that we can engage the world around us in a different way. How many things can you do differently? Sleep different; don’t use an alarm. Eat different food. Eat with different people. Explore new places. Learn something new.

Make it about being present.

After college, I moved across the country. Then after several years I moved across the country again. For a period of about 10 years I lived states away from my family. But I fell into a routine of calling my mom every Sunday. I don’t remember this being an intentional thing. But as I look back on it now, what an appropriate way to Sabbath, intentionally connecting and being present with people you love.

Find creative ways to be present to yourself (maybe sit in a coffee shop with a good book), to be present to God (maybe participate in a corporate worship service), to be present to others (maybe share your table with a neighbor or stranger), and to creation (maybe go for a walk). Call and re-connect with an old friend. Turn your phone off. Have the willpower to let all those social media notifications go for 24 hours.

Make it a rhythm.

Put it on the calendar. Make it important and uninterruptible. Sure, things can creep up from time to time. Emergencies happen. But they should be exceptions, and Sabbath shouldn’t be preempted by the latest urgent crisis-that’s-not-a-crisis.

Create rituals. Rituals have a way of re-wiring our brains and shaping our imaginations. Perhaps it’s lighting some candles or incense, or maybe it’s going to a particular place like a park or a garden.

Make it a finish line.

I once heard a ministry leader tell a crowd of people we should spend ourselves and spend ourselves because we had all of heaven to relax. I’m beginning to think that’s a rather unhealthy way of living, much less practice ministry.

The rhythm of six-plus-one teaches us that each week has its own finish line. What’s done in six days is enough, and it’s worth having a party about. I once ran a marathon, and words cannot express the joy and relief and adrenaline that comes with the sight of the finish line. Anticipation breeds excitement and hope, and this is what practicing Sabbath each week can bring.

And this is what our mission is: to return to the abundant life God intended with creation. Practicing Sabbath together forms us into a people on this mission. We do this in community together for the sake of the healing of the whole world. There’s a little bit of eschatology in every Sabbath. This is what we’re made for. It’s what deep, down inside we long for.

Sabbath is about engaging life in all of its fullness. This is bigger than a day to do nothing. It’s a day to do the very best somethings. Resist the temptation to turn it into your rejuvenation day. For the Jews in the worlds of both the Old and New Testament, taking one day in every seven to set aside work was counter-cultural and revolutionary. It was weird. It was taking on the character of God.

And in our current times where the idols include productivity, hustle, and efficiency, and where workaholics are made heroes, observing the Sabbath, even simply, can turn the world upside-down. It’s one more practice that reminds us that there’s a center to the universe, and it’s not us.

If you’d like to explore deeper, I’d suggest Heschel’s classic work The Sabbath, as well as Marva Dawn’s Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting, which expands on Heschel for a Christian audience. Both will change the way you think about and practice Sabbath.