Practicing Sabbath
By Tammie Grimm
It can be startling to discover that for all the spiritual practices or means of grace we can name, none are listed in the Ten Commandments. Prayer, which is considered to be primary by many people of faith isn’t mentioned once. Neither is the necessity to attend public worship, to read or study Scripture, or to receive the Lord’s Supper. It may help to realize that uniquely Christian practices of faith aren’t mentions in the “Big 10” because they were given to Moses long before Jesus walked the earth. The Ten Commandments helped establish ways of living that distinguish the people of God in Moses’ day — and for every generation to follow — from the ways of the rest of the world.
And yet, the essence of the fourth commandment, to keep the Sabbath holy, finds a home in Wesley’s General Rules. There, in his first rule, to avoid evil, he riffs on the commandment when he writes to avoid “profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work thereon, or by buying or selling.” Even though the Lord’s Day (Sunday) is different than the Sabbath day (Saturday), Wesley and most Christians throughout church history have sought to keep the spirit of the law by keeping one day of the week holy by not working or allowing those in one’s household or employ — including beasts of burden — to work (Exodus 20:8 and Deuteronomy 5:12).
Though not technically listed as a “means of grace” in Wesley’s rubric, practicing Sabbath rest is nonetheless a spiritual discipline. More than just being the only “practice of faith” listed in the Ten Commandments, it is present in the story of Creation. On that seventh day, after God saw all the work of the previous six days and declared it to be “very good,” he rested and called that day “holy.” It is that opportunity to be still for a full day — to rest in God’s goodness, to enjoy creations just as God did, to discover Sabbath delight — is at the heart of Sabbath rest. Still, there can be nothing so difficult to begin to practice than Sabbath rest. Even if our non-stop, 24-7, digitally fueled 21st Century world wasn’t antithetical to it, our ability to become legalistic about religious practices complicates things. Jesus himself got into trouble and was scolded by the Pharisees in Mark 2 when he and his disciples idly plucked grain as they walked through fields. His reply, “The Sabbath was made to serve us, we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath,” may seem a little flippant, but it does provide hints to what it means to practice Sabbath rest.
First, we need to understand Sabbath is not “stolen time.” Rather, it is time set apart by God as holy. It is time for humanity to come back to itself. Resting from our workaday labors is necessary. We can only push ourselves so far. But Sabbath rest isn’t about resting so that we can be more productive at our jobs. Rather, it is our opportunity to rest and be restored, to be aligned with the work God is doing in us that we might be made more whole, just as God intended and first created us to be. Accepting Sabbath as holy time means entering into it with intentionality. Sabbath may be about rest, but it doesn’t mean doing nothing. Eventually, lethargy sets in that may lead to acedia, the condition of being a spiritual sloth. Nor is practicing Sabbath about accomplishing the “to do” list of the things you didn’t have time for over the rest of the week. Doing laundry, grocery shopping, and getting errands done is what Eugene Peterson calls a “bastard Sabbath.”
Rather, to delight in the Sabbath you need a plan regarding the things you won’t do, e.g., those mundane, everyday chores. If it isn’t work and something that you find life-giving and honors the Lord, do it! It can be reading, spending time with people you love, going for a walk, taking a nap, journaling, or maybe even making a gourmet meal if that is your thing. You might be surprised at where your natural talents and God-given talents lead you to. Practicing Sabbath may not be listed in Wesley’s means of grace, but it is, nonetheless, an important spiritual discipline. Setting aside time for prayer, or reading Scripture seriously, or volunteering at the local mission might feel awkward at first. So will it likely be with Sabbath. But with time, and trusting that time to God, you just might find that you depend upon the rhythm Sabbath makes in your week as much as your body depends upon the rhythm of your own heartbeat.
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