You can listen to this reflection here.
My congregations are doing a worship series this Lent on the spiritual practice of Sabbath-keeping. Many Sundays we will deviate from the lectionary. On those weeks, Friday’s Water Daily will focus on my chosen gospel reading. This week that is Matthew 11:28 – 12:8, which contains an invitation we ignore at our peril: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Do you know anyone who is not carrying heavy burdens, who is not in need of rest? Our 24/7/365 culture promotes exhaustion and burn-out, not rest, relaxation, recharging. Most Christians, even those who would post the Ten Commandments in every school and government office, routinely ignore the fourth one: “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Why do we so resist this invitation to rest in God? Why has the Christian faith become so associated with work and responsibility, when Jesus invited people to follow him, to leave their burdens behind and join his mission?
Maybe it's because human beings are hardwired to seek contracts not covenants – we like to earn our rewards, not have them given to us. Working for it leaves us in control – and if we’re in control we can choose not to enjoy our rewards, and just keep working for more. But our brains and our bodies need fallow time as much as do the fields and the workers and the animals around us. When I do manage to keep sabbath I find myself much readier to work the next day; I’m more centered, less prone to irritation, more attuned to Holy Spirit nudges.
Can we reclaim this spiritual practice that goes back to the very creation of the world? Like all spiritual practices, this one takes practice – but we can do it. Some religious communities still practice sabbath-keeping, and we can learn from them. We don’t have to be rigid about how we approach it. For me, a sabbath day is any 24-hour period when I refrain from being productive, from anything that would be on my to-do list. If making a dinner for 12 is creative and life-giving for you, do it on the sabbath; if it’s work, don’t.
Jesus invites us to put off the yokes that drive us like oxen in the fields, and take on his yoke – which he says is light and leads to peace and joy. That is one reason I urge us to try this practice on for Lent – peace and joy are scarce commodities in the world right now. If we, as the people of God practicing Jesus’ Way of Love, can become more grounded in the peace of Christ, we have something vital to share with those around us. Gain more by doing less!
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Showing posts with label Sabbath-Keeping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabbath-Keeping. Show all posts
5-31-24 - Sabbath Law/Sabbath Blessing
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
It is God’s greatest invitation that is also one of the “Big Ten” commandments. It was inaugurated at the dawn of creation. It is essential to our maintaining our health, our sanity, our society, even our work animals. And most Jesus followers routinely ignore the invitation and flout the commandment. Why do we so resist the gift of Sabbath blessing?
Of the many ways that “My ways are not your ways, nor my thoughts your thoughts,” says the Lord, Sabbath is among the most counter-intuitive. The lure of the completed to-do list is powerful, though we know its tail keeps growing no matter how many tasks we tick off the top. The notion that if we just keep working we will get more done seems to make logical sense, despite the wisdom of mystics and neuro-scientists. We understand the need for rest, for sleep, for “down-time,” for fields to go fallow, but the drive to push forward often overrides that deeper knowledge.
And there can be fear in our resistance to taking a period of time with no work – fear of feelings that might come up if we’re not distracted with tasks and data; fear of feeling alone; fear of feeling unworthy because we’re not “producing,” have nothing to show for our day. I can feel that way even after a day of meetings and pastoral care, which are very much my “work” but don’t leave a visible product.
For a few seasons in my life, I have kept Sabbath – maintained a day each week with no productive work, nothing that would be on a to-do list. No email, no computer – unless I felt inspired to some creative writing. No housework unless I wanted to be creative in the kitchen or indulge my gift of hospitality by crafting a lovely meal to be shared with people I love. I even saw a pay-off – I was so much clearer, more energized, creative and ready to work the next day. My Sabbath, when I take one, is a Friday, my day off. I suppose I would do even better to take a sabbath Monday in addition to my day off, but that seems profligate.
And there lies probably the deepest issue: Perhaps we don’t feel we deserve a day of rest, because no one has told us, or we don’t really believe, that the God who made us; who wired us to need a day of rest; who loves us with an extravagant love that is so profligate, he allowed his own Son to live among us and die for us; that this God wants joy and love for us far beyond anything we might produce or achieve. God made us royalty, not beasts of burden (and never forget that beasts of burden also need at least a day off…). Why don’t we take God at his word, obey his commandment to rest, take his invitation to rest, and see what happens?
It is summertime. If ever we were to experiment with the holy practice of Sabbath-keeping, it would be in this season when some even get extra time off each week. Choose a day of the week when you do not have many obligations.
If you consider cooking drudgery, try to make some things ahead or eat out.
Sleep in, enjoy your morning routines without hurry.
Do whatever you feel like, but nothing that would be on your to-do list.
Nap if you feel like it, take a walk, do something artistic. Play.
Enjoy time with people you love, if you can.
Does that seem too great a challenge? Consider the domestic housecat. It neither toils nor spins (except when chasing its own tail…); it accomplishes nothing, builds nothing, produces nothing (beyond the occasional hairball). And yet no creature on earth is more beloved than most pet cats. Their owners lavish time and attention, food and toys upon them, delighting in their little rituals and antics. If this is how much we love something who “achieves” so little, imagine how much God wants to see us enjoying this life and world God has created for us. At least one day each week.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
It is God’s greatest invitation that is also one of the “Big Ten” commandments. It was inaugurated at the dawn of creation. It is essential to our maintaining our health, our sanity, our society, even our work animals. And most Jesus followers routinely ignore the invitation and flout the commandment. Why do we so resist the gift of Sabbath blessing?
Of the many ways that “My ways are not your ways, nor my thoughts your thoughts,” says the Lord, Sabbath is among the most counter-intuitive. The lure of the completed to-do list is powerful, though we know its tail keeps growing no matter how many tasks we tick off the top. The notion that if we just keep working we will get more done seems to make logical sense, despite the wisdom of mystics and neuro-scientists. We understand the need for rest, for sleep, for “down-time,” for fields to go fallow, but the drive to push forward often overrides that deeper knowledge.
And there can be fear in our resistance to taking a period of time with no work – fear of feelings that might come up if we’re not distracted with tasks and data; fear of feeling alone; fear of feeling unworthy because we’re not “producing,” have nothing to show for our day. I can feel that way even after a day of meetings and pastoral care, which are very much my “work” but don’t leave a visible product.
For a few seasons in my life, I have kept Sabbath – maintained a day each week with no productive work, nothing that would be on a to-do list. No email, no computer – unless I felt inspired to some creative writing. No housework unless I wanted to be creative in the kitchen or indulge my gift of hospitality by crafting a lovely meal to be shared with people I love. I even saw a pay-off – I was so much clearer, more energized, creative and ready to work the next day. My Sabbath, when I take one, is a Friday, my day off. I suppose I would do even better to take a sabbath Monday in addition to my day off, but that seems profligate.
And there lies probably the deepest issue: Perhaps we don’t feel we deserve a day of rest, because no one has told us, or we don’t really believe, that the God who made us; who wired us to need a day of rest; who loves us with an extravagant love that is so profligate, he allowed his own Son to live among us and die for us; that this God wants joy and love for us far beyond anything we might produce or achieve. God made us royalty, not beasts of burden (and never forget that beasts of burden also need at least a day off…). Why don’t we take God at his word, obey his commandment to rest, take his invitation to rest, and see what happens?
It is summertime. If ever we were to experiment with the holy practice of Sabbath-keeping, it would be in this season when some even get extra time off each week. Choose a day of the week when you do not have many obligations.
If you consider cooking drudgery, try to make some things ahead or eat out.
Sleep in, enjoy your morning routines without hurry.
Do whatever you feel like, but nothing that would be on your to-do list.
Nap if you feel like it, take a walk, do something artistic. Play.
Enjoy time with people you love, if you can.
Does that seem too great a challenge? Consider the domestic housecat. It neither toils nor spins (except when chasing its own tail…); it accomplishes nothing, builds nothing, produces nothing (beyond the occasional hairball). And yet no creature on earth is more beloved than most pet cats. Their owners lavish time and attention, food and toys upon them, delighting in their little rituals and antics. If this is how much we love something who “achieves” so little, imagine how much God wants to see us enjoying this life and world God has created for us. At least one day each week.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
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