Image source: Liz
I know I'm on the wrong end of the weekend for wishing you Shabbat Shalom but I didn't want to wait until Friday to post this.
H/T to my friend, KPD, for sending along a link to this fine NYT article on the Sabbath. And don't miss the comments following the article!
Judith Shulevitz does a fine job here of raising the question of the Sabbath in what might be called a post-Sabbath culture. The article prodded me to do some thinking about the Sabbath, how I keep 0r fail to keep) it and how Christians might think of reappropriating the Sabbath rest in times which seem to know no rest.
Follow the link - it's worth the trip and the article is not lengthy. I'd be interested in hearing from you...
- In what if any ways is the Sabbath a day different than the other 6 in your life?
- Is worship a constant in your Sabbath experience?
- Are your Sabbath practices supported by others in your household?
- Is the Sabbath a day of rest for you? how so?
- If the Sabbath is not markedly different from the rest of your week, would you like to see that change?
- How would you describe the Sabbath you'd like to be part of your week on a regular basis?
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Assuming that you are defining Sabbath as sundown on Saturday through sundown on Sunday (has living in the Middle East tainted my definition?), yes, it is markedly different from other days. Much less stress. More time with family (and cats). More time spent walking and doing social things. And yes, worship is a constant, both vespers on Saturday and Sunday Mass. Typically, I attend English-language vespers and Sunday Spanish-language Masses -- two different experiences and two different focuses when it comes to the readings/homilies. I definitely look forward to the Sabbath as a time of rest and renewal.
ReplyDeleteHighly recommend Christopher Ringwald's fine book about the Sabbath and practices: A Day Apart: How Jews, Christians, and Muslims Find Faith, Freedom, and Joy on the Sabbath (Oxford). Ringwald, who is currently the editor of the diocesan paper in Albany, NY, writes about his own (and his family's) experience of becoming more devoted to Sabbath observance.
ReplyDeleteI echo Meredith's sentiment about Christopher Ringwald's excellent book for starters. I have the privilege of knowing Chris as he here in this diocese.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I have had these thoughts on my mind, in a distant corner anyway, since reading Chris' book. And even more so since I have been largely out of commission for the past 2.5 weeks.
Yes, worship is a constant in my own Sabbath practice, but I realize that I have been far too busy. One of the gifts of my recent illness is that I have had some time to reflect on how I might restructure my priorities, thus my time.
On another note, when I lived in LA, one of my best friends was a modern orthodox Jew. It was a great gift to spend many a shabbat dinner with her and her family; it taught me a lot about how time was sacred. I had similar experiences of this when visiting Israel for the first time and spending time with her and her extended family there.
There is much more to learn from slowing down than our culture values in general.