For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him (Psalm 62:5).
In chapter two of Sacred Time, we considered being intentional about pauses throughout our day to recognize God’s presence with us. Now, in chapter three, we are encouraged to pause for an entire day to spend with God.
We acknowledge that keeping the seventh day holy – the Sabbath – is one of the commandments, but what if we saw Sabbath more as an invitation – an opportunity to ignore our ringing phones and flashing computer screens and go outside to listen to the birds and squirrels and other critters.
What if for one day – or part of one day – we rested from the things and attitudes of this world. What if we took a long walk with a friend or read poetry or went to the neighborhood park to watch children play.
Sabbath “comes with its own holiness,” says Susannah Heschel in the introduction to Abraham Joshua Heschel’s book The Sabbath. When we cease from our labors on Sabbath, “we enter not simply a day, but an atmosphere,” she writes.
Quoting Abraham Heschel, Christine Valters Paintner says, Sabbath is a “realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord.”
The invitation of Sabbath is to rest from the pressures of our modern world and to clear a space where we can listen to God.
For reflection:
We encourage you to try at least one of the practices which Paintner suggests to introduce us to the idea of Sabbath. Which suggestion called to you the most? If you had a chance to try it, what did you learn? How will you incorporate it into your weekly schedule?
Many of us have heard myriad sermons and discussions and have attended retreats on the subject of incorporating Sabbath into our lives. What, if anything, struck you as new in Paintner’s approach?
What would it mean to you to think of Sabbath as a time of integration of blessings, challenges, and experience, as the author suggests?
“How do you balance work and worship? Where do you plant your flag of Sabbath and orient everything else around it?” (p.40)
What are the things you need to unplug from to truly experience Sabbath freedom? When you allow yourself to fully enter into the gift of Sabbath rest, what do you notice about your mind, heart, and body?
What is your reaction to Paintner’s poem on pg 46-47?
The Wisdom Years 