Cultivating Sabbath
I am growing a vegetable garden.
I am cultivating (preparing) the ground, so I can place the seeds. After watering and nurturing the seeds I expect to get some lettuce, carrots and snow peas. I know when those little seeds rise to seedlings I will find delight in them. I know as they turn into vegetables I will find delight in harvesting and eating them.
I feel we are called to cultivate sabbath in our lives in the sense of preparing our hearts for God and for his delight in us. We do this by resting.
I know theologically that sabbath is one day of complete resting. I can appreciate that.
I like to think as sabbath as moment by moment. That I can find rest in my everyday.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matt 11:28-30)
If I’m honest and look at my life I am weary. I have five children, dishes, house cleaning and days full of the same. The days are full of special needs children, appointments and schedules. They don’t just turn off or go away. I want to honour the sabbath in amongst my busy, loud family life.
How to cultivate a sabbath
Develop consistent actions that represent your heart
For me I can light a candle, prepare a lovely sit down roast dinner for the family on Saturday night. Set the table. I can have the house tidied and a sense of calm before the sabbath. I try to find gratefulness in the day. In all of it I want to find Jesus rest.
I want his peace.
I want to practice the sabbath with honesty and integrity. Not religion and rules. Not a task to tick off the list.
I believe the sabbath is for coming together as a community of believers and finding a place to worship and read the Bible together. Offering each other grace and kindness. Having a meal together. Letting go of our need to earn money to succeed and climb the ladder.
Coming to Jesus
Sometimes I am overwhelmed with my sense of belonging or not feeling I belong. Jesus is direct. He says come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. A promise of peace.
He doesn’t say, “I will magically take all your burdens and turn you into a millionaire with no problems”.
He says bring your weary to me.
Part of a sabbath I believe is simply coming to Jesus. Opening our hearts back to him. In all the stress, the overwhelm, the feeling of forgotten and overlooked. We lay it at his feet. We receive his peace in return.
Rest
We breath, we acknowledge that it isn’t our path, our direction that we are cultivating. It is his path and his map and his direction. It is his garden.
His yoke
What he asks is pure love. To be both the loved and the lover. His yoke is his joining to us. He asks above our tasks for relationship, for intimacy for us to sit at his feet and fellowship. To sit with a meal and fellowship. To worship and fellowship.
Sabbath is all these things…
The Pharisees made it into a detailed list of dos and donts. Pharisees were consistent and religious and they missed the point. We are not under the law of obligation but a beautiful spiritual practice. We can fall into that trap too. Jesus brings us back into alignment with him. We love God and we love others.
Jesus knows I have five kids. Jesus knows my heart aches. He knows the grace I need. He sees my attempts to find solace with him. He sees my fears and anxiety. He meets me with healing oil. He meets me and he sits with me. He calms my spirit and talks lovingly over me.
This is sabbath.
Sabbath may be a Sunday for you. Sabbath may mean you curve out time during the week when children are not home to find rest in his arms. The importance is in taking the sabbath with the right heart.
I pray you cultivate a Sabbath. In your actions, you’re coming to Jesus, your rest and taking his yoke and his promise of peace.
It won’t look perfect. But by making it a spiritual practice you are cultivating seeds of a rich harvest of intimacy and delight with God.