4 Ways to Practice Sabbath

4 Ways to Practice Sabbath If you could have a day FULL of your favorite things… why wouldn’t you? This is what we’re talking about when we say the word, “Sabbath.” Weird… And, probably not how most of us were taught to think about Sabbath. In fact, some of our Sabbath expectations might be more recognizable to the Pharisees than to Jesus. One community a few miles from my childhood home was known for stories of neighbors calling the police on one another for daring to mow their lawns or wash their cars on a “day of rest.” My personal understanding of sabbath was one that was best spent almost entirely in corporate worship, with a quick nap between services. These ideas of sabbath are typically hyper-specific to Sundays and make no exceptions for people whose jobs require them to work weekends other than perhaps those in ministry themselves (interesting exception, huh?). Let’s pause for a minute to remember Jesus’s words, after his disciples were confronted for picking grain on the Sabbath, “Then he said to [the Pharisees], ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’” (Mark 2:27). In fact, Jesus already declared himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath– promising that it is in him we will find our true rest (Matthew 12:8). So, how do we reconcile these encounters in the New Testament with the command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy? There must be ways to practice Sabbath without falling too far into traps of dogma. You see, the Bible does indicate healthy patterns that allow us to participate in this Sabbath rest. The rest that God models in Genesis 2 showcases the epitome of this rest– one where God’s work has met completion, and he is able to live in fullness with his creation. While the Sabbath we experience on earth won’t be as complete– gotta’ keep toiling eventually– the sentiment stands: God desires us to participate in his rest. We are invited to practice living into a reality that is to come– one of utter fulfillment and restoration.