Monday, October 08, 2007

Sabbath

I went to the Zoe conference this past weekend. One session I really liked was Gary Holloway's on Sabbath. I admit that my habits in the disciplines are not anywhere where I want them to be. One discipline I haven't practiced is Sabbath. I can't count the number of times I've heard people say that it is the only command of the Ten that Jesus doesn't bring into the new covenant. Yet, Jesus talked about it. In Mark 2 he talks about Sabbath being made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

The writer of Hebrews talks about the Sabbath in chapter 4

Heb 4:9-11
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
NIV

The difficult part of Sabbath is making time for it. We are such a culture of muititasking and busyness. To stop that for a period of time or even a whole day is no easy talk.

Oh, but to have a day when I turn the cell phone off, I don't check email, I don't think about work, and I don't worry. A day filled with family, fun, and worship.

My family will try this. If you have any experience with Sabbath, I'd love to hear your input.

3 comments:

Lesli said...

Wow!! You posted! I had almost given up. Glad you had a good weekend. It is something we are working on, too. Hope you're day is going well. Miss ya!

Stephanie said...

a day of rest . . . huh? almost seems foreign. there's no time for rest . . . too much work to be done . . . I think that's one we could all work on.

was great to see you this weekend! Next time I look forward to seeing the whole Morris clan!

Peter Schott said...

Our SS class actually did a study on this at one point (well, an extended study - we take our time exploring these concepts). Our teacher had made it a point to take a Sabbath day (other than Sunday since he works as our music leader then). It was a good study and really emphasized that the Sabbath was made for man - something we really need to take more advantage of to slow down in our crazy, hectic world.

Some good reading might be along the lines of Spiritual Disciplines. I know that both Richard Foster and Donald Whitney have sections in their books touching on rest, though in conjunction with Silence or Solitude.

As for the time - it has to be scheduled and honored when you do schedule it, just like any other appointment. If someone wants a meeting on that day - you're busy. Ask for some help from your family, too (harder to do with little ones). Of course, a Sabbath doesn't have to be done alone, but it involves resting in God's presence.

For me, it's just as hard as for anyone else. The closest I can come is to a "Sabbath Year" of church service. We switched church bodies somewhat recently and I stopped teaching SS, leading teams and committees, organizing, etc. I still served (mostly singing in the choir), but did not really have all of the pressing responsibilities so typical of my church-body involvement. It really was a restful time to not be the one doing all of the work and such.

What did I gain? Well, I got a new perspective on a lot of what I'd been doing and figured out what I should focus on. I observed people who are truly gifted in some areas and learned from them. I wasn't stressed about planning a service, budgets, who is serving, what lesson series to teach next, etc. It was pretty cool.

Welcome back to the world of the blogging, Bret!

-Pete