Labor Day

Tomorrow is Labor Day...the first Monday in September every year is a holiday (notice how that's a mashed-together word made up of "holy" and "day") to celebrate those who labor and give them rest. I find this concept ironic for a number of reasons. One reason is simply that, as I looked at the advertisements in today's newspaper, almost every insert had a special "Labor Day" sale, with savings for shoppers. While I'm not about to complain about saving some cash, if Labor Day is a day about celebrating those who labor and give them rest, then why are there people waiting on me if I go out to a store or a restaurant tomorrow? Really - give it a rest!

...which brings me to my main point. Labor Day - a day of rest - one day a year...really? God commands us a day of rest each week. It's called Sabbath. While hard to understand, and even more difficult to put into practice, Sabbath is an ancient practice that we Christians are called to live into weekly. I don't need a government holiday (which looks nothing like the sabbath, with parades and shopping and barbeques and...) to live into Sabbath. What I need (and what Christians need) is a regular day each week in which to rest in God. That rest looks different for each person. Personally, I've found Receiving the Day from the Jossey-Bass series, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, by Marva Dawn, and Sabbath from the "Ancient Practices" series to be most helpful in shaping how I practice Sabbath.

I was most refreshed by Sabbath when I was finishing seminary. I had just read Marva Dawn's book the previous summer, and decided that I wanted to put her ideas into practice. Basically, she offers for areas of focus: worship, eating, care for the body, and rest. Each Sunday (because in those days, Sunday was my Sabbath), I would "work" by carrying out my job on staff at a local United Methodist church. When I arrived home, I would cook a healthy lunch (for me in those days, that meant that I cooked an entire well-balanced meal, which was different than a granola bar or frozen pizza). After lunch, I would do some Bible study, spiritual reading, and pray. I would then take a nap, wake up, and take a walk outside. I might work on homework for some portion of the early evening, eat again, and then head to Compline at a local Episcopal church for an additional worship opportunity (where I was not responsible for worship leadership). While the day was full, it was focused on God for all 24 hours - in resting, in eating the fruits God had given, by caring for the body God gave me, and by focusing on God.

I long for those days. Now, the Sabbath (Friday) is often full of errands, taking kids to school and picking them up, or housework. I still, though, try to at least focus on God for some portion of the day. I try to continue my devotional life (Bible study, prayer, spiritual reading), and I also tend to write this blog on Fridays. Sabbath looks different for me now than it did five years ago - but it is still Sabbath. Sabbath is regular - it is a part of the rhythm of my week.

I need more than a Labor Day. I need regular Sabbath that honors God.