by Sarah MacDonald & Jay Sivits

What does it mean to keep the Sabbath?

It's the usual academic conference drill. You've traveled across the country through bustling airports or crowded highways and arrived at an elegant hotel buzzing with conference participants. You scan the schedule to figure out how to make the most of every minute. Hmmm... many familiar elements here: well-known plenary speakers, track sessions, networking opportunities over meals, late night activities-and a 4-hour Sabbath retreat on the first day? Now that's not so familiar. There's something unusual going on at this conference.

Keeping Sabbath cuts across the grain of the crammed and frenzied 24/7 culture in which we live. The academic and professional worlds most of us inhabit place a premium on hard work and brilliance, highly-developed skills and achievement. "Time is money," we are told, and "publish or perish." Our worth, we start to feel, is measured by our productivity and our ability; our success is something we must scramble to reach. So a conference becomes an opportunity to get more done, to increase the depth of our knowledge or the breadth of our professional network, to come away with new ideas and fresh inspiration. Even at a Christian conference-perhaps especially at a Christian conference-the temptation is strong to push ourselves to take in everything, to miss no opportunity, to pack our schedules and our brains full to bursting.

But Sabbath calls us into a different frame of mind - a different way of being. The Hebrew word shabath means "to stop" or "to desist," and so during Sabbath time, we stop our work, we desist from our frantic scrambling to get more done. Like God, who "in six days...made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day" (Exodus 20:11), on the Sabbath we take time to rest.

Yet the Sabbath is far more than a day on which we restrain ourselves from working. Some of us may have childhood memories of Sundays hedged by rules of what we couldn't do, and now we wrestle to figure out what's "allowed" on this day. With such a perspective, Sabbath-keeping is flattened into a series of restrictions, and God begins to seem like a referee ready to blow the whistle when we slip out of bounds. For others of us, Sunday may feel like a "day off." We've worked so hard all week that now we only want to "veg out" in front of the TV, our minds idling in neutral. In this context, we are hardly "keeping" Sabbath or anything else, and God seems remote and unrelated to our activity.

Both of these two extremes, however, miss the heart of the Sabbath. Biblical Sabbath-keeping is an act of trust, a recognition that we can cease our labors for one day a week and the world will not come crashing down around us. It is a reminder that we are small and limited, but God is infinitely big. Keeping Sabbath is a way to affirm that our lives depend not on our own efforts and strivings but rather on God's grace and care.

And so, freeing us from the burden of devoting all our time to getting ahead, Sabbath makes space for us to notice and reflect on instances of God's grace in our lives and in our world. Sabbath also calls us to celebrate this divine grace-through worship and prayer and through play and enjoyment of God's creation. Just as God crowned six days' work of creation by looking around and exclaiming "How very good!" so we, too, need time to revel in what God is doing for us and through us.

Eugene Peterson has described Sabbath-keeping as woven from two essential threads: praying, "the action by which we attend to God," and playing, "the action by which we explore our humanity." Marva Dawn, in her book Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, uses four words to unfold the meaning of Sabbath: ceasing, resting, embracing, and feasting. Clearly, the concept of Sabbath, developed throughout the Bible and in Jewish and Christian traditions, is rich and multi-layered. This afternoon, we invite you to experience a three-fold movement of Sabbath-keeping-ceasing, seeing, and celebrating-and thereby to enter into a stronger trust, a deeper awareness, and a more joyful way of being.

Ceasing. The first movement of the Sabbath is to turn away from our own anxious striving. Here at this conference, with so many scheduled events and so much good information to absorb, it will be tempting to cut ourselves short on sleep or quiet reflection time. But Sabbath frees us to choose rest over further activity, reminding us that the goodness of our experience here does not depend on how far we can stretch our energy or our minds.

Nor does it depend on the polish of our image or the cleverness of our words. As academics, we are accustomed to proving and advancing ourselves with articulate talk. But Sabbath invites us to choose silence over speech. We can pause from our attempts to produce impressive words, listening instead as God reassures us, "You are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased."

How then, today, should we practice Sabbath ceasing? We urge everyone to spend at least the first hour, from 1:00 - 2:00 pm, in silence and (as far as possible) solitary rest or reflection. Turn off your cell phones, your pagers, and your Palm Pilots. Don't schedule a meeting; don't bury yourself in the work you brought along to catch up on. Rather, you might spend some time with the reflection questions that appear at the end of this Sabbath guide. If you're feeling tired, take a nap. You may wish to return to your room after lunch. We've also set up some other quiet spaces in the hotel (see "Ideas" below). If you'd like to take a walk outside or spend time in prayer at a nearby church, check the Daily News Sheet for suggestions of where to go.

After this first hour of quiet, some of you may wish to spend time in sharing and conversation with others. Feel free to do so; the Sabbath, after all, is a communal observance. However, please be considerate of conference participants (especially if they happen to be your roommates!) who want to extend their time of silence throughout the Sabbath retreat.

Seeing. When we take a break from work and worry, a space opens in our day. Sometimes we rush to fill this space with leisure activities that require little of us but give little in return. This hotel is full of such possibilities: TVs to watch, stores to shop at, magazines to rifle through. Yet Sabbath calls us to choose genuine renewal over "filler," and we are much more likely to find ourselves renewed when we engage in activities that bring us face-to-face with God's grace. The second movement of Sabbath, then, is to open our eyes and our hearts and pay close attention to how we're seeing God at work.

And there's so much to pay attention to, beginning with our own lives. Today, as we near the end of 2002, you might find it helpful to reflect on the past year, asking yourself, "Where and how has God been at work in the events of my life?" Take time to remember.

This afternoon you might encounter God through the pages of Scripture, by choosing a passage to meditate on more deeply. Or you could hunt for grace and beauty in the world around you. Go to the ballroom and study the artwork on display there. Take a walk outside and look for "small wonders" of nature. Museums and memorials, especially those commemorating the struggle for civil rights, remind us of God's hand in our history. Consider visiting one (again, see the Daily News Sheet for possibilities and schedules). Let yourself be moved.

One more arena for encountering God's grace is through the people around us-and there are certainly plenty of people surrounding us here at this conference! Take advantage of that; use some of your Sabbath time, if you wish, to deepen relationships. Not to network or talk shop-there will be many opportunities for that during the rest of the conference-but to listen deeply to each other, to share your stories and your souls, and to process together what you're learning about following Christ.

Celebrating. When we have noted and recalled God's grace in our lives and in our world, the third movement of Sabbath is to celebrate that grace. The Sabbath is a time for rejoicing and partying! And so, before this Sabbath afternoon has come to a close, be sure that you've not only seen but also enjoyed God's gifts and blessings.

Sabbath celebration comes in many forms. Your celebration might take the form of play-of engaging in physical or social recreation. It might take the form of artistic creation; you could spend time at the "creative space" set up in the ballroom, using the art supplies for painting, drawing, sculpting, or writing. You might celebrate individually, offering up your own prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God. Or you might celebrate communally, sharing your gratitude and joy in pairs or small groups. For those who want to celebrate with singing, an hour of musical worship will be held in the ballroom from 3:30 - 4:30 pm.

Our Sabbath celebrations today will be varied and creative, quiet or noisy, sometimes prayerful and sometimes playful. Feel free to observe your own Sabbath retreat in the ways that best speak to your heart. But please do choose to observe it. The Sabbath is one of God's sweetest gifts to us-yet a gift all too often neglected. When we do unwrap this gift, however, its sweetness begins to permeate the rest of our days as well. Opening this conference with a Sabbath retreat, then, will better ready us to receive the blessings the remaining conference days will bring.

Ideas for how to use today's Sabbath time:

• Use the following reflection questions to guide you in a time of meditation and/or journaling.

• Keep an hour (or more) of silence. Reflect on how you've recently heard God speak to you.

• Spend time in the "quiet space" of the Prayer Room (Danube/Tigris) between 12:00 and 4:00 pm. This space is set up for prayer and meditation and contains guides for more extended reflection. Also, if you should need a mini-Sabbath as the week goes on, this room will be available for individual quiet space at all times, except when it's in use for the posted times of prayer ministry.

• From 4:00 - 5:00 pm prayer ministry will be available in the Prayer Room (Danube/Tigris); feel free to stop by if you'd like to receive prayer.

• Attend the worship time from 3:30 - 4:30 pm in the Imperial Ballroom.

• Spend time at the "creative space" set up at the back of the Imperial Ballroom. These tables contain art supplies you're welcome to use, as well as suggestions for creative things to do.

• Visit a nearby church for a sacred place to pray. Churches that have agreed to open their buildings for us are listed in the Daily News Sheet.

• Take an unhurried, attentive walk outside. Check the Daily News Sheet for recommended parks or memorials.

• Take a nap.

• Visit the artwork on display at the entrance to the Imperial Ballroom.

• Read a nourishing book.

• Exercise or go swimming, and rejoice over how good it feels to have a body.

• Memorize a brief Scripture passage.

• Write a psalm of thankfulness to God.

• Write a note of encouragement and appreciation to a friend.

• Gather with friends to share stories of God's grace.

Sabbath Reflection Guide

Ceasing

1. In some Jewish families, it is customary to have a Sabbath box to hold items not needed on the Sabbath, such as car keys or wallets. Someone stands at the entrance of the house, holding the box, and as people come in for the start of Sabbath observance, they place in the box whatever items they know shouldn't accompany them into the sacred space.

You might find it helpful to imagine your own "Sabbath box." What preoccupations or fears or undone work do you need to leave behind as you enter the sacred space of this Sabbath? Visualize placing all these things into a box. You might then want to visualize handing this box to Jesus to hold for you while you are on Sabbath retreat.

2. Spend some time meditating on Matthew 11:28-30.

• What heavy burdens are you or have you been carrying?

• What kind(s) of rest do you long for?

• Ask Jesus to give you such rest during your Sabbath today.

Seeing

1. In Deut. 5:12-15, the stated reason for the command to "Observe the Sabbath day" is that God brought the Israelites out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt, and so the Sabbath is to be a day of freedom for everyone-whatever one's social status. In the gospels, we see Jesus pick up on this theme of freedom, particularly as he performs many healings on the Sabbath.

Read the story of one such healing in Luke 13:10-17. Now reread the story, imagining yourself in the shoes of one of the characters.

• What do you see and hear as the story unfolds? What surprises you?

• What emotions do you feel? How do you want to respond to Jesus?

2. Take some time now to reflect on your own life.

• What has been going on recently in your journey with God? In your relationships with others? In your work?

• What insights, experiences, or Scriptures have become channels for God's love and grace to you?

• Are there areas in your life that you need to bring to Jesus for his healing touch?

Celebrating

Read Psalm 92, which is titled "A Song for the Sabbath Day," and notice how it calls us into rejoicing.

• What reasons do you have for giving thanks to the Lord? How have you been experiencing and witnessing God's steadfast love and faithfulness?

• Compose a prayer or psalm to express your thanksgiving and joy to God. Include specific examples of what God has done for you, and try to create imagery that captures your feelings. Pray your psalm to God; if you're alone, read (or sing) it aloud.

• Is there someone with whom you can share your psalm and so multiply praise to the Lord? Look for ways this afternoon or throughout the conference to join with others in praising God.