Taking a Sabbath

Holy curmedgeons it's hot down here!  We left extra early this morning to make sure that we didn't have to ride through much heat, but we still had about an hour and a half in 95 degree or hotter weather.  What made it worse is that wind unexpectedly came through and and slowed us down, as if the weather gods were trying to laugh at us sweat in the heat.  No matter, we are on a mission, and people on a mission always come through heroically.

After days like today I really thank God for the notion of a sabbath, which we will be taking tomorrow.  An unfortunate number of people are unable to take a sabbath on Sunday (or Saturday for Jews, or Friday for Muslims) because our society is too consumer-istic to systematically award a sabbath to all people.  Ironically, many of those people who are unable to take a sabbath on Sunday are pastors.  Yet one of the things I've learned in my two years of seminary, with one year interning at a church, is that it really shouldn't matter when we take a sabbath as long as we take one.  Sure, having a more universal sabbath develops a sense of community, but in general God wanted a sabbath guaranteed for our well-being.  Work hard during the week then take a day off from all form of work.

What an idea.  We too often think of a sabbath as an inconvenience because we have too much to do.  Or, if we are the type of people to not work on the weekends or on one day a week, we miss the real meaning of a sabbath by partying or wasting time.  Whether we believe in a god who "dictates" to us to take a sabbath or not, we should all make sure that we are taking one during the week.  With all the work that we do, with all the things that we stress out about, with all the pressures of this world, we need to take a day and refresh ourselves by taking a walk, remembering why we love the people that we love, reading a book that we have been looking forward to, or whatever it is that will refresh us with the breath of life. 

Sabbaths are important for all of us.  Taking a sabbath not only keeps us upbeat and full of life, but it helps prevent a feeling of being overwhelmed by all the unaccomplished dreams we have and all the mounting injustices.  Taking a sabbath is a discipline, I know.  It takes a lot of work to schedule into your week an entire day of doing no work of any kind, especially a day of doing no work that doesn't fly by so quickly that you go back to work feeling drained still.  But I believe that the more we learn to take a sabbath, the more likely we will be to find time to work at bringing love into the world.  The more rest we get, the more we will be able to work hard at what we most want to.

So I really look forward to the opportunities of sitting in a jacuzzi, swimming, and drinking my recovery powder with some rest.  I know that when I do things right, when I rest well and take a sabbath, that I'll once again be able to willingly get on my bike and continue on.  That's what we all need to.  Take a sabbath, and then join the fight with unknown energy.