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Sabbath Rest - August 30, 2006
My youngest daughter is a huge fan of the Chick-fil-A fast food chain. She got that way when her roommate introduced her to it and she liked the food. She is also a "poor" college student so they even camped out at a Chick-fil-A grand opening to earn coupons for 52 free combo meals for a year.
Normally I avoid using brand names in this column but this chain has earned my respect because of a bold difference: they dare to close on Sundays. How unique in this day! I notice that even on the standard Interstate traffic signs telling you which restaurants are at which exit, the signs for Chick-fil-A tell you, "Closed on Sunday." What a witness, right out there on the Interstate. The company web site says, "Our founder, Truett Cathy, wanted to ensure that every Chick-fil-A employee and restaurant operator had an opportunity to worship, spend time with family and friends, or just plain rest from the work week. Made sense then; still makes sense now."
It should make sense to Wayne Muller, an ordained minister and psychotherapist who wrote Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest, (Bantam,1999). When I heard him speak recently, he began by coming to the platform and issuing a long, very loud sigh into the microphone. He encouraged us to do the same. He had our attention, saying it was one of the healthiest ways to calm your nerves or to relax.
He then proceeded to talk about the fourth commandment in the Bible and said it is on a par with the commandments against murder and adultery. Few of us will ever commit murder. Most of us don't commit adultery. But do we keep the fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath? I'm guilty, and I bet every reader is also guilty at times.
But perhaps some of us got turned off about legalistic rules about a day of rest when we were growing up. Perhaps some of us work in jobs where someone has to work on Sundays or other days of rest: hospitals, nursing homes, fire houses, police stations. Finally, just the pace of life today means that it is very, very difficult to literally take a day to essentially do no work.
All of that is forgetting the fact that taking a day off to unwind and uncork is a gift to yourself and your family. It was planned for in the way we were created. We don't live up to our potential when we don't take time to rest and re-create.
I'm mainly talking about Sundays because that is my tradition, but Muller goes back to the Jewish Sabbath tradition that goes from sundown on Friday evening to sundown on Saturday evening. "In that tradition, there was no negotiating. The sun went down, and that was it. You put the plow down and headed for the house. A clear marker." He explained how Orthodox Jewish families spent the day before Sabbath preparing food that could be picked up and eaten without work, and there were clear rules about what one could do and not do. Interestingly, he points out, one of the things that married couples were supposed to do on the Sabbath was make love. Other appropriate activities included taking a stroll, singing, reading, and playing games.
Muller appeared to put his life philosophy into practice. On this business trip to the east coast from his home in California, he brought his 10-year-old son who was enjoying exploring the eastern beaches when his dad wasn't presenting plenaries or workshops. If he had to travel into a weekend on business, at least it included some special family time.
The idea of taking one day a week for Sabbath or rest time is very closely tied to ways we can better manage the stress in our lives.
Contributed by Melodie Davis: MelodieD@MennoMedia.org Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
My youngest daughter is a huge fan of the Chick-fil-A fast food chain. She got that way when her roommate introduced her to it and she liked the food. She is also a "poor" college student so they even camped out at a Chick-fil-A grand opening to earn coupons for 52 free combo meals for a year.
Normally I avoid using brand names in this column but this chain has earned my respect because of a bold difference: they dare to close on Sundays. How unique in this day! I notice that even on the standard Interstate traffic signs telling you which restaurants are at which exit, the signs for Chick-fil-A tell you, "Closed on Sunday." What a witness, right out there on the Interstate. The company web site says, "Our founder, Truett Cathy, wanted to ensure that every Chick-fil-A employee and restaurant operator had an opportunity to worship, spend time with family and friends, or just plain rest from the work week. Made sense then; still makes sense now."
It should make sense to Wayne Muller, an ordained minister and psychotherapist who wrote Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest, (Bantam,1999). When I heard him speak recently, he began by coming to the platform and issuing a long, very loud sigh into the microphone. He encouraged us to do the same. He had our attention, saying it was one of the healthiest ways to calm your nerves or to relax.
He then proceeded to talk about the fourth commandment in the Bible and said it is on a par with the commandments against murder and adultery. Few of us will ever commit murder. Most of us don't commit adultery. But do we keep the fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath? I'm guilty, and I bet every reader is also guilty at times.
But perhaps some of us got turned off about legalistic rules about a day of rest when we were growing up. Perhaps some of us work in jobs where someone has to work on Sundays or other days of rest: hospitals, nursing homes, fire houses, police stations. Finally, just the pace of life today means that it is very, very difficult to literally take a day to essentially do no work.
All of that is forgetting the fact that taking a day off to unwind and uncork is a gift to yourself and your family. It was planned for in the way we were created. We don't live up to our potential when we don't take time to rest and re-create.
I'm mainly talking about Sundays because that is my tradition, but Muller goes back to the Jewish Sabbath tradition that goes from sundown on Friday evening to sundown on Saturday evening. "In that tradition, there was no negotiating. The sun went down, and that was it. You put the plow down and headed for the house. A clear marker." He explained how Orthodox Jewish families spent the day before Sabbath preparing food that could be picked up and eaten without work, and there were clear rules about what one could do and not do. Interestingly, he points out, one of the things that married couples were supposed to do on the Sabbath was make love. Other appropriate activities included taking a stroll, singing, reading, and playing games.
Muller appeared to put his life philosophy into practice. On this business trip to the east coast from his home in California, he brought his 10-year-old son who was enjoying exploring the eastern beaches when his dad wasn't presenting plenaries or workshops. If he had to travel into a weekend on business, at least it included some special family time.
The idea of taking one day a week for Sabbath or rest time is very closely tied to ways we can better manage the stress in our lives.
Contributed by Melodie Davis: MelodieD@MennoMedia.org Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
