Rules for Radical Sabbathtarians

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. – Exodus 20:8 (NRSV) 

As a writer and a pastor, I have written often about sabbath-keeping in the 21^st century. Sabbath is spiritual rest or rest for the spirit. This one-seventh of our time is time to enjoy God, which is the holiest of holies. I goofball more than most of my peers—and I do so because I know how important my rest is to my work, my leisure to my productivity. I also suffer from a God complex, and resting more than God did is therapy to that complex. 

Really good Sabbathtarians (of which club I am not a member) lose the guilt early. They also figure out how to do nothing. A few years ago, I took a three-month sabbatical over four months and worked one week a month. The work was a kind of reverse sabbatical, giving me more rest than I realized it would. 

Also, I learned how to be (briefly each day) an escapee from the dominant narrative: “You are what you do. If you don’t do it, no one else will. Hard work is the route to justice.” I could bask (sometimes) in the renewable energy of God’s narrative: “You are a creature. You are not in charge of the universe. You are not supplied by electric power or motor power or energy you buy from a company. You are not a diminishing resource. You are a renewing resource. You are powered by sun and wind.” 

Prayer
Show us, sabbath-giving and sabbath-taking God, how to enjoy both rest and work. Remind us that not everybody “gets” a sabbatical, and still you offer rest to all. Amen.

About the Author
Donna Schaper is Interim Minister at the United Congregational Church of Little Compton. Her latest book is Remove the Pews.