“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31).
Jesus understood well the need we all have for rest, to replenish ourselves body and spirit. The Gospels often report how Jesus would rise while it was still dark, steal away from the relentless crowds of people, and from his disciples, to pray and be restored by God’s Spirit. Jesus also encouraged his disciples to do the same, as in the verse above.
Sabbath rest of course is one of the ten commandments. The version that appears in Exodus explains that we are to rest on the sabbath day, because that is what God did when God finished creating the heavens and the earth. But there’s a second version that appears in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 6 that gives a different rationale for sabbath rest. This version mentions the need of all living creatures for rest including livestock and slaves.
We don’t talk much about the need for sabbath rest in our day and culture. The need for rest is seldom acknowledged in a society where every day is a workday. We are just used to being busy all the time, trying to keep up with frantic schedules.
Summertime is a time for vacation. But even when we go on vacation, often our leisure time is filled with strenuous activity, constantly on the go, seeing sights, keeping up with relentless travel itineraries.
Americans are often discouraged by their employers from taking all the vacation they are allotted. Some employers will buy vacation time back from employees who would rather have the money in their pockets. Europeans are much more enlightened when it comes to taking their vacation—all of it. An average European takes about 30 days of vacation a year. Americans take an average of about two weeks a year.
Sabbath is an important part of the biblical tradition that is overlooked by most Christians. The Bible wills a time of rest for all of us. God, in his concern for the wellbeing of all of his creatures commands it.
God builds sabbath rest into the fabric of creation itself, to impress upon us all the need to take time away from the work we do for a living, and the harried nature of contemporary life that creates undue stress, hypertension and other maladies of the modern world.
This summer let me encourage all of you to get away, and don’t feel that you must fill every moment of your leisure time with activity. There really is nothing wrong with sitting by the lake reading a book. Let’s devote some time to talking about Sabbath in church, in Bible study groups, etc. in the hope that we will be more mindful of the commandment. Rising when it is still dark, before the hectic day that is about to begin, and spending time apart in prayer, is probably an excellent model to follow!
Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy! This summer and throughout the year!