A Sabbath to Remember
Ahhh...
What a day!
We slept in 'til past 11am. I was awakened with the aroma of bacon and eggs - soon accompanied by a steaming mug of Starbucks finest coffee, their Black Apron Exclusive Rwandan Blue Bourbon (thanks Abby). I finished things off with a large bowl overflowing with fresh green grapes, so juicy and ripe that I had to keep wiping my face off after each bite.
After a breakfast spent talking about what we were NOT going to do today, the conversation shifted to the future... But this time, as opposed to other times more recently, I felt a stronger sense of hope and excitement about the steps we are taking towards co-authoring the next chapter of our lives.
I didn't shower, and I didn't care.
We grabbed some blankets, pillows, drinks, and great books as we sprawled out in the backyard on our suddenly green lawn.
The sun showed up for work today with a wink and a smile, and the breeze fanned us when a drop of perspiration appeared. I read more about rest and play and sabbath... Today I read about Restoration and Healing, and also about Feasting. I was strongly impressed and stirred by the stories of Jesus healing on the Sabbath. Now I had always been taught that it was to teach a lesson to the Pharisees, and to us, about grace versus the law. But today I was challenged by the statement, "Jesus' favorite day to heal and restore was on the Sabbath. He deemed that day most appropriate."
We all have wounds, all of us are broken. If anyone claims otherwise, then he is lying to himself and the chasm between his head and his heart is very wide indeed. The thing is - busyness keeps us from dealing with the quiet things, the hidden things, the wounded places of our hearts. Those wounds get covered up by work, or soccer practice, or food, or media, or simply overbooking ourselves. One thing I have found is that those who CHOOSE to be overly busy - seem to have the most profound woundings. Anyway, the heart needs our attention, our focus, most importantly our TIME in order for our wounds to be dressed, treated, and eventually healed. Sabbath is that day. Not vacation. Not sabbatical. Sabbath - a day, once per week as planned by God himself, that is held in highest honor and importance for our bodies, minds, and hearts to rest. To play. To be. To heal.
After a long time in the sun, the results of which have colored my face and arms red, Ange wanted to mow the lawn. Now to some - that seems like work - but to my wife, it is an absolute relaxing joy. Part of that joy is due to the fact that we own a fabulous John Deere riding mower, and normally I fight for the right to mow, but today I could see in her eyes that she realllllly wanted to.
Have you ever done work that didn't feel like - well, WORK?
That was today for us... While Ange mowed with a big silly grin on her face - I went into our almost finished dream basement, plugged in my ipod to some speakers, and had a painting party. I sang along to some of my favorite tunes, harmonizing at the top of my lungs along with the likes of James Blunt, Sufjan Stevens, Bloc Party, and of course, the Modern Skirts. I danced a little, when no one was looking, and oh yeah - painted all the boards.
It was a day of relaxation, rest, love, music, food, great conversation, and accomplishment...
And now my lover beckons me to snuggle as we fade into midnight...
Thank you God for the Sabbath... I feasted on your gifts today.
posted by NY23CLIFF @ 11:31 PM
6 Comments:
Nice, Sabbath are be a wonderful time to recover. I know I enjoyed the time off this weekend, and it was more relaxing then normal. I didn't even touch homework till late Sunday night, when I read my chapter for class. I took this whole weekend as a Sabbath. I was great I got to take some cool pictures and edit some of my other ones I hadn't gotten to yet. It was a glorious weekend. Now, its time to put my nose to the grindstone, and finish up.
Wow, that entry really resonated. I especially loved your paragraph about healing wounds and how that is done.
I've been thinking about your last entry on playing quite a bit. And now this seems to be a good continuation of that--it's made me wonder how having small children plays into the equation. It seems at this stage of my life, living off a schedule which was your definition of playing, is impossible. The same goes with Sabbath or rest--it's just not happening. There are restful and relaxing moments here and there, but just not full days right now. There are some days that are so bogged down with constant motion that I think it will always be like this--there are two little faces constantly needing something from me. Then there are other days that I understand my kids will only be this small once, and I won't be taking care of them anymore. And that's when I love every minute of it. I will have rest again someday, but I won't have my two tiny goofballs...
I agree we need to rest, but my question is this: What is true rest? Does true rest require an exterior environment or is it something from within? I guess that is two questions.
Sabbath literally means rest from labor. So in response to Jamie's question I would say yes their does need to be a physical aspect to it. However, I sit at a desk all week. For me to go out and do some physical labor is actually quite nice. As Cliff put it "Have you ever done work that didn't feel like - well, WORK?" I am resting from "my labor" which is sitting in front of a desk but I'm not resting from all Labor.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees when they were chastising him from doing "work" on the Sabbath. His response in Mark 2: "Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." My question is what does that mean?
My mowing the lawn or tending to the animals isn't quite healing the afflicted as Jesus was. Which raises another question. Should we be out trying to minister to others and help them heal their wounds on the Sabbath? We can certainly rest from "our labor" and minister to others.
Honestly, now that I think of it, I don't know that the Sabbath is always about physical resting in the sense that we don't do anything all day. Isn't that why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees??
wow...everyone else is so deep! i just wanted to make a shout out to the black apron exclusive! glad you love it.
hey cliff...
thanks for the timely words. I too, have been reading Mark's book on the "rest of God" and have been blown away with my need for more if it and less of booking myself silly.
I love that our hearts are on a similar journey...I'm glad you're married to my sister. I would chose no one else to lead and love her. I love you bro.
Jason
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