I chose the title Keeping Holy because as I thought more and more about this idea of keeping the Sabbath, a statement Lauren made gripped me. “In failing to live a Sabbath truly distinct from weekly time, I had violated a most basic command: to keep the Sabbath holy.” Would it be stretching it too much to say that since God is holy keeping the Sabbath holy – or set apart – has something to do with keeping God? Or may I say keeping the Sabbath holy is honoring God who is holy?
I must confess that the first few pages of the book brought back memories of struggle from many years ago [late sixties]. I had had a kind of struggle with the Old Testament. Here was I seeking to be faithful to the Lord (and God’s Holy Scripture). I had to take anatomy class and it required working with dead bodies and bones of dead humans. I had read in the Old Testament (Numbers 19:11-15) about becoming unclean when one made contact with dead humans. What was I to do? Forget about the anatomy classes (and that would have meant I could not continue the course and therefore change in career) or ignore what the Old Testament said? For many months I struggled with that issue. The classes were not that hard but the struggle made it emotionally (or was it spiritually) hard. To what extent shall a Christian hold the Old and New Testaments in balance or shall I say in tension? We cannot do away with that tension or struggle to balance the two. The question I am beginning to ask now is, “How best can I make that struggle bring about growth in the depth of my spirituality?” Lauren F. Winner’s book, Mudhouse Sabbath, takes me deeper in that conversation.
I used a picture of two athletes in a relay race passing a baton in my confirmation class. In relation to our faith, I commented that one runner passes the baton to another; the “old” or the established in faith passes on the faith (represented by the baton) to the “new” or younger in faith. As I read the book that image came back to mind and the question that occurred to me was what if we (Christians) thought of ourselves as the “younger” or the “new” receiving the baton from the “established” or the “old?” I can see us learning a whole lot from the “established,” in this case our Jewish heritage. I do not mean interpreting the Old Testament in a way we (Christians) want but rather giving serious consideration to how the Jewish people have interpreted it and lived by it. As humans there is a lot of comfort for us to be in a well-known, well-established rhythm. Those of us that have been in any of the academy sessions are familiar with the emphasis on the rhythm of each retreat. Time is invariably made for “Sabbath rest” during these retreats. When I read of the rabbinic teaching that Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are caught up remembering the preceding Shabbat, while Wednesday, through Friday are devoted to preparing for the next Shabbat [page 8], I had a flash back. It concerned the use of psalms in the daily offices. “The psalm appointed for Sunday in the Revised Common Lectionary may be used on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; with the psalm for the following Sunday used on Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” I see a common link here. A link that may be as old as we have had monastic communities; or maybe goes as far back as the Dessert Abbas & Ammas who preceded the monastic communities.
I found it intriguing that Lauren, the author of the book, found out after giving up the “old” ways that she really misses those old ways. “I miss Sabbaths on which I actually rested,” were her words. I remember when many stores were closed on Sundays and when it was put on the ballot whether to open on Sundays or not. We the people (of this ?Christian nation!) voted for stores to open on Sundays. We were forced not to shop on Sundays prior to that! As a personal choice I refuse to shop on Sundays except in case of dire emergency. That is part of my attempt to keep the Sabbath. It became obvious as I listened to Lauren in her book that my attempt to keep the Sabbath is woefully inadequate. I have to keep in mind the interpretation not to create. No, I hope I am not becoming legalistic. I hope I am getting in tune with the God that commanded that we should keep the Sabbath holy.
I am re-visiting the question of whether God had (may it be has!) a good reason for making it a law to remember the Sabbath as stated in Exodus 20:8 or to observe the Sabbath, as stated in Deuteronomy 5:12. Is that not what we do with God’s commands? If we can figure out a good reason then we keep it; if we cannot figure out a good reason we reject it. Consider the lectionary reading from Matthew 6. When was the last time you were in a community of believers that emphasized or even encouraged fasting? Our “cafeteria” mentality and attitude clearly come out in our approach to the commands especially those contained in the books of the Old Testament. In the light of the lectionary reading from Matthew 6, I was wondering what if instead of using giving alms Jesus had used observing the Sabbath? What would Jesus have said about it? And would that have made any difference in our spiritual discipline towards observing the Sabbath?
I must confess that the first few pages of the book brought back memories of struggle from many years ago [late sixties]. I had had a kind of struggle with the Old Testament. Here was I seeking to be faithful to the Lord (and God’s Holy Scripture). I had to take anatomy class and it required working with dead bodies and bones of dead humans. I had read in the Old Testament (Numbers 19:11-15) about becoming unclean when one made contact with dead humans. What was I to do? Forget about the anatomy classes (and that would have meant I could not continue the course and therefore change in career) or ignore what the Old Testament said? For many months I struggled with that issue. The classes were not that hard but the struggle made it emotionally (or was it spiritually) hard. To what extent shall a Christian hold the Old and New Testaments in balance or shall I say in tension? We cannot do away with that tension or struggle to balance the two. The question I am beginning to ask now is, “How best can I make that struggle bring about growth in the depth of my spirituality?” Lauren F. Winner’s book, Mudhouse Sabbath, takes me deeper in that conversation.
I used a picture of two athletes in a relay race passing a baton in my confirmation class. In relation to our faith, I commented that one runner passes the baton to another; the “old” or the established in faith passes on the faith (represented by the baton) to the “new” or younger in faith. As I read the book that image came back to mind and the question that occurred to me was what if we (Christians) thought of ourselves as the “younger” or the “new” receiving the baton from the “established” or the “old?” I can see us learning a whole lot from the “established,” in this case our Jewish heritage. I do not mean interpreting the Old Testament in a way we (Christians) want but rather giving serious consideration to how the Jewish people have interpreted it and lived by it. As humans there is a lot of comfort for us to be in a well-known, well-established rhythm. Those of us that have been in any of the academy sessions are familiar with the emphasis on the rhythm of each retreat. Time is invariably made for “Sabbath rest” during these retreats. When I read of the rabbinic teaching that Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are caught up remembering the preceding Shabbat, while Wednesday, through Friday are devoted to preparing for the next Shabbat [page 8], I had a flash back. It concerned the use of psalms in the daily offices. “The psalm appointed for Sunday in the Revised Common Lectionary may be used on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; with the psalm for the following Sunday used on Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” I see a common link here. A link that may be as old as we have had monastic communities; or maybe goes as far back as the Dessert Abbas & Ammas who preceded the monastic communities.
I found it intriguing that Lauren, the author of the book, found out after giving up the “old” ways that she really misses those old ways. “I miss Sabbaths on which I actually rested,” were her words. I remember when many stores were closed on Sundays and when it was put on the ballot whether to open on Sundays or not. We the people (of this ?Christian nation!) voted for stores to open on Sundays. We were forced not to shop on Sundays prior to that! As a personal choice I refuse to shop on Sundays except in case of dire emergency. That is part of my attempt to keep the Sabbath. It became obvious as I listened to Lauren in her book that my attempt to keep the Sabbath is woefully inadequate. I have to keep in mind the interpretation not to create. No, I hope I am not becoming legalistic. I hope I am getting in tune with the God that commanded that we should keep the Sabbath holy.
I am re-visiting the question of whether God had (may it be has!) a good reason for making it a law to remember the Sabbath as stated in Exodus 20:8 or to observe the Sabbath, as stated in Deuteronomy 5:12. Is that not what we do with God’s commands? If we can figure out a good reason then we keep it; if we cannot figure out a good reason we reject it. Consider the lectionary reading from Matthew 6. When was the last time you were in a community of believers that emphasized or even encouraged fasting? Our “cafeteria” mentality and attitude clearly come out in our approach to the commands especially those contained in the books of the Old Testament. In the light of the lectionary reading from Matthew 6, I was wondering what if instead of using giving alms Jesus had used observing the Sabbath? What would Jesus have said about it? And would that have made any difference in our spiritual discipline towards observing the Sabbath?