Two years ago I took a month long sabbatical from work, ministry, meetings, and email. It was a fabulous month and good for my soul.
Just before that month began, a friend recommended that I read Sabbath: The Ancient Practices
A few weeks ago I boarded a flight and realized that I had no book to read. I found Sabbath on my iPad and began reading. It was enthralling, and I finished the book by the time I landed in San Francisco.
I’ve been around Church stuff all of my life. I’ve heard thousands of sermons and Bible studies. But I had never heard the Sabbath treated like this. Allender reminded me that God made a big deal about the Sabbath, but we routinely ignore it. The book isn’t trying to say that we all need to stop on Sundays and watch football; it’s more nuanced and brilliant than that. We’ve become so debased by busyness that we forget to plan for and take times of restoration, to find things that bring us delight. Instead, we’ve begun to think of the Sabbath as a time to vacate from work. We view the Sabbath as a negative in that way — it’s a time to NOT do something rather than a time to be proactively engaged with things that bring us joy.
As Allender says, “Sabbath is far more like hanging out with God in a French cafe drinking an expresso and talking about Simone de Beauvoir and listening to cool jazz. If that sounds like torture to you, then Sabbath is more like a country fair pig roast after the judging of the calf competition.” Or for me, strolling through the historical sights of Rome while sipping cappuccino and watching all the cool Italian cars drive by. In other words, the Sabbath is a time to engage with the things that we find fulfilling and bring us delight.
I like how he states the question, “What would I do for a twenty-four hour period of time if the only criteria was to pursue my deepest joy?” Instead of being afraid of joy (a topic Allender covers well), we need to embrace the finer things in life. Remember, God didn’t rest because he was tired on the Sabbath; God celebrated and delighted in his creation on the Sabbath.
That image struck me. We need to take the time to delight in the things we have created or accomplished.
Here’s an example. When we moved into our new home it was chaos — finalizing the purchase, selling our old home, packing up years of accumulated stuff, dealing with all the address changes and utilities, fixing things that had broken, etc etc. On top of that I had a company to run, a ministry to lead, a big trip to Istanbul in the middle of it all, and family pressures. At one point D’Aun said something beautifully wise — we need to take the time to enjoy the new home for the reasons we bought it. So we walked the vineyard. All of it. In the mud. Then we watched the sunset. It was a refreshing time that reminded us why we’re doing all the hard work.
That was a short Sabbath. It was a chance, as Allender would say, to celebrate creation and get lost in the beauty. We sought and found the one parameter of the Sabbath — to find delight.
This was the perfect book for me to read at this time in life, and I’m thankful for the friend who made the suggestion. Just a bit embarrassed that it was two years before finally reading it!
Want to learn more about my sabbatical time? Click here to see the various postings from that time.
During my sabbatical, D’Aun and I took time to enjoy coffee in Rome.