in too much of a hurry, too busy to notice, celebrate and give thanks for the warm sun on their cheek, the smell of the earth after a summer rain, the playful laughter of children, the delicious touch of their beloved partner?
Sanctuary in time
The thread running through all these tender, reflective thoughts is time. Everything precious, beautiful and sacred needs time. Every value we claim to hold dear to our hearts— love, friendship, compassion, faith, peace—grows only in the rich, slow soil of unhurried time. Gentle, unstructured, unproductive time. Time to rest. Time to listen to those still, small voices that teach us what is right and good and true. Time to gather with those we love and enjoy a meal together without watch- ing the clock. Time to share love and gratitude with our family and friends. Time to stroll down the street or through the woods, leaving our watch and cellphone behind. Time to play, to nap, to rest. The biblical commandment to remember the Sabbath is precisely such a gift. It is a sanctuary, a holy temple filled to overflowing with the single most elusive, priceless enzyme that makes all good things possible: time.
Isaiah sings: “Call the sabbath a
delight” (58:13). In the Hebrew tra- dition, Sabbath begins at sundown. Everyone leaves work, responsi- bilities, tools behind and goes home. There, with everyone safely gathered, they circle the family table—parents, children and beloved friends—and light candles, sing and pray. They offer their hearts’ blessing with and for one another; they confess their love and care for each other. Before the Sabbath meal, faithful
married couples bathe and dress in clean, fresh clothing. When the meal
is finished, when guests depart and children have gone to bed, they retire to their bedchamber to make love.
A Christian commandment too As Christians, our relationship with the Sabbath is less clear. And as a result, it has far less prominence in our lives. We know Jesus chafed at the rampant legalism that had unnecessarily turned the Sabbath into a complicated maze of rules and regulations. “The sabbath was made for you, not you for the sabbath,” he insisted (Mark 2:27).
But make no mistake—Jesus was
clear he had “not come to abolish the law and the prophets” (Matthew 5:17). So even as Lord of the Sab- bath, he never abolished the com- mandment, never diminished the need for remembering the Sabbath. Nevertheless, it seems many church folk feel their cozy relation- ship with Jesus has resulted in some sort of “Get Out of Sabbath Free” card, allowing them to run errands or get out their laptop and work. Because the Hebrew Sabbath begins at sundown, there is no ques- tion about when to shut down work and go home. Sundown is a gentle but firm reminder that we are not in charge. We do not run the show; we are not the only ones to make sure things get done. Once the sun falls below the horizon, what we have done, or left undone, is of no conse- quence. We rest, refresh and enjoy life now. No exceptions. In the Christian tradition, interpre-
tations of the Sabbath vary so widely that most people just give up on the whole enterprise. Without a working thermostat, without a specific time to practice the commandment (and it is still a commandment), most people just blow it off. Somehow, in all our religious fervor around the word of God being unassailable in matters of sexuality and the sanctity of life, we
Six steps to sufficiency
1. Listen for the next right thing. We make thousands of tiny choices a day that make up a week, a year, a life. When making choices, tune into that invisible, intangible, yet consistent guidance that has run through your life thus far. 2. Practice a beginner’s mind. Become more playful in recogniz- ing possibilities and outcomes. 3. Live at the pace of the heart. Often our lives are forced to run at the speed of the mind, but the heart processes information much slower. 4. Watch for what makes you speedy and therefore take on too much. Often in our attempt to avoid feelings, such as grief or disappointment, we move too fast. Also watch for artificial emer- gencies. In this age of speed and efficiency, everything becomes urgent. But is it really?
5. Notice “dishonest” kindness. When we extend ourselves beyond our present capacity, who does it serve? Ask yourself before promis- ing to do something: Can I handle it? or Do I love it? Our lives have become more about what we can handle, instead of about what we love. 6. Create boundaries around your accessibility. Avoid the 24/7 expectation of availability through email, social networks and cellphones. Do you want to be available by phone constantly, or could you occasionally turn it off? Establish email-free days.
Wayne Muller August 2011 23
DESIGNPICS
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