FORWARD
"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet,
which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey."
Acts 1:12 (All bible references are from the NRSV unless otherwise noted.)2
We live in a world gone busy in which an oft heard complaint is “There just isn’t enough time!” We are busy doing so many things that we find it difficult to do one thing well and intentionally. This busyness is not just a matter of not having enough time, it is a matter of not having an adequate framework to live in the time we have. This lack of foundation or reference from which to live our lives has contributed to lives that are fragmented and unsettled, a characteristic of the postmodern world. Many thought that increasing technology would help humanity gain mastery not only over our space but our time as well. The promise of modernity, rooted in advances in technology, for more leisure time has fallen on ears deafened by the fruit of modernity, consumerism. In other words, we thought all the technology of the information age would “free up” time so that we can rest and play more. But what has happened is just the opposite. It seems that technology has just given us more options but not more freedom. We are not able to negotiate the challenges of time, because we do not know how to rest, truly rest.
The Judeo–Christian tradition of Sabbath can radically transform the way we live in time. It is a gift from God that can transform our lives through a reestablishment of a rhythm of time and space that is more attuned to the way God intends. Sabbath is a time in which we are invited to be renewed and refreshed. The Jewish theologian, Abraham Heschel who wrote a time-honored book on the subject to which I will refer frequently, gave us one of the most beautiful definitions of Sabbath.
“Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else. Six days a week we seek to dominate the world; on the seventh day we try to dominate the self.”3
Of course, Sabbath refers to a day, a twenty-four hour period of time set aside for worship, rest and renewal. I want to be clear that I believe this is a goal to which we should ascribe. One can only imagine the how the world would be transformed if only we rested one day a week. But most of our lives are so far removed from this biblical concept of Sabbath that it seems foreign at best and may even bring up thought of legalism. Even Heschel acknowledges the difficulties of Sabbath keeping. Referring to the legalistic embellishment of Sabbath keeping with laws and regulations he writes, “In their illustrious fear of desecrating the spirit of the day, the ancient rabbis established a level of observance which is within the reach of exalted souls but not infrequently beyond the grasp of ordinary man.” 4
A child must learn to walk before she can run. This resource is intended as a step toward the Biblical Sabbath, a day set apart, which is “holy” unto God. Over the next seven weeks we will build a bridge that will span the gulf between our hectic lives and the time honored tradition of Sabbath. This bridge will be built out of boards of reason and narrative. You will read about the Sabbath in order to better understand its meaning. But this will also be a journey of the heart using the language of story, metaphor, poetry, visual art, and music. Together we will explore rituals of transformation that just may
empower us to move from the chronological quagmire in which we are stuck, to a
spacious, simple, separate and sacred Sabbath. Please be open to how the Sabbath Journey unfolds for you. Each path will be different. No one is better than the other. Focusing on the ideas, metaphors and experiences that gently open the self to God, this resource will help you to learn to walk, one small step at a time, so that eventually Sabbath will be an integral part of your life.
The seven chapters or weeks of A Sabbath Journey flow from the essence of the biblical Sabbath. We first encounter the concept of Sabbath in Genesis. Chapter One of the Sabbath Journey, Beginning, points to the origin of the Sabbath in creation. Verses from the first two chapters of Genesis will be the signposts on our main road as we travel in this plentiful land. From this main road we will venture deep into Sabbath territory on roads called Spacious, Separate, Simple and Sacred. Along the way there will be paths to explore, adventures to embrace. Toward the conclusion of this journey we will learn that the road continues well beyond the horizon. This portion of your Sabbath Journey, which will hopefully become a continually unfolding part of your life, will conclude with a celebration of God’s blessing on the entire journey.
The purpose of this resource is not so much to give you more information. Instead it will help you grow through experiences. I highly recommend that A Sabbath Journey be used in community such as spiritual direction or in a small group. Although these meditations are divided into weeks and days, please do not feel any constriction to that pattern. My prayer and desire is that you find a rhythm that works for you, one that heightens your awareness of God’s presence in your life. Be patient with yourself. Let
new insights, learnings, feelings and promptings float lightly and luxuriously in your head and heart. Spiritual growth cannot be rushed. Prayer takes time to experiment with and practice. On our Sabbath Journey we’re all beginners.
In the spiritual life there are no tricks and no short cuts. One cannot begin to face the real difficulties of the life of prayer and meditation unless one is first perfectly content to be a beginner and really experience oneself as one who knows little or nothing, and has a desperate need to learn the bare rudiments. Those who think they know from the beginning never, in fact, come to know anything … We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners all our life. Thomas Merton5
The New Testament concept of the Christian as a “sojourner”6 conveys the sense of staying only for a short time in a strange place. We are reminded in scripture that this earth is not our native land. We are citizens of God’s Kingdom. The Sabbath journey is a journey from here to there. It is a journey to a land that is not far away, but just under the surface of our lives. May God’s blessing be on you on the adventure of a life-time.
The Biblical Sabbath ~ A day of rest and worship
Sabbath- In essence Sabbath is a safe place at the heart of creation. It is an environment where we are invited to practice a non-anxious presence that we may learn to live into the reality of God’s essential blessing.
Journey- The act of traveling from one place to another; a trip,
the process or course likened to traveling; a passage.
”Sabbath is resting from our work so that God can do God’s work.”
John Calvin7
Sabbath Journey-Travel from where we are to where our hearts long to be.
“Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes
the rest of the week.” Alice Walker8