Snow day calls for mandatory Sabbath
The hype is over, the snow is finally here. If you can admit it, adults may even be as excited as the kids. You may have work that you can do from home, or bosses that told you not to bother coming in today. At my church, programming was canceled for today, which may mean your family’s extracurricular commitments are also on hold. It’s as if nature is demanding that we take a Sabbath from our busy lives.
I think the average Christian forgets that the Sabbath was one of the 10 commandments, in fact, Exodus names it 4th on the top 10 list. The law is strict in its instruction: keep the day holy. People might assume this means go to church, only think about God, read the Bible; however, the actual commandment says nothing about worship on the Sabbath. It only demands that we rest. No working, not for us, or our children, or our servants or any alien that’s within our gates. (The latter two are a bit out of context for 2011, but you get the gist of it).
The reason for the rest is rooted in creation. However you interpret creation, whether literally or metaphorically, the same conclusion remains — we don’t normally rest. Not unless a foot of snow is dumped on us and forces us to do nothing else. Instead, we work through the Sabbath; we cart kids to soccer games, catch up on emails, pay bills, clean our homes and do God knows what else because we are trying to be more efficient and productive in our lives. It’s as if the commandment is laughing at our efforts. In essence, saying, “if God can create the entire world and still rest one day a week, what do you possibly think you will accomplish by working through the Sabbath?”
It may be the most challenging commandment to follow, but it’s definitely worth the effort. This snow day, take the mandatory Sabbath for all it’s meant to be. No work, just rest. You may just find the rest of your week far more productive than it ever was. Happy snow Sabbath.
Darcy Crain-Polly is the Associate Minister at the First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor. She can be reached directly by email here.
Comments
Soothslayer
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.
I think we, as a nation, should institute a mid week day off (everything closed like it used to be on Sundays) once a month. We don't take enough vacations or spend quality time with our families, friends & loved ones as much as we should as it is. 12 Days out of the year won't kill us, in fact it will make us much stronger.
Heidi Hess Saxton
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 2:27 p.m.
This commandment is one of my favorites because of its relational focus. As we slow down and take a breather from the activities that absorb us the rest of the week, God's gift to us is an opportunity to focus on the essential relationships in our lives: Our relationship with God, certainly, but family and friends as well. Remembering the historical context in which these laws were handed to the Israelites, recently liberated from slavery in Egypt, we are reminded not to be enslaved by things that, in the end, are of limited value. "You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul," my father often said to me. In the end, all we can take with us is the memories we've made and the love received from the people in our lives. Nothing else matters. Thanks for taking time to write this, Darcy.