By Stephanie Johnson
As the summer winds down, I’ve been catching up with people about their summer. Many have mentioned that it was busier than they ever remember. Some took the past months, as the pandemic seemed to ease, as a wonderful opportunity to fill their social calendars that had been void of engagements for nearly 18 months. Others happily jumped into an increase in children activities which has also been put on hold for so long. Reconnecting with family has been prioritized, even if travel has proven sometimes to be challenging. The August lament of “I’ve been so busy where has the summer gone” seems to have reached a peak this past week.
In the midst of all this energy, I hear a wistfulness for the lazy, hazy days of summer…lying in hammocks rather than sitting in cars, sipping lemonade on the front porch rather than grabbing a to-go coffee, and long BBQ dinners on the patio rather than a last minute pizza. Perhaps this longing is a false sense of nostalgia that never really was part of our summer, but a collective hunger for something else. I’ve begun to wonder if our deepest longings are a desire for life-sustaining rest in the midst of fear, uncertainty and hyper-activity. For me, this type of rest is “Sabbath rest.”
Sabbath is an important biblical theme. God rested on the final day after Creation after all God’s work. (Genesis 2:2-3 ) In the Book of Leviticus (25:3-5) we read that a year of Sabbath should be given to the land as even the soil needs renewal. In the Ten Commandments, the third Commandment requires us to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
This past summer I was blessed by our church leadership with the gift of a sabbatical, an extended time for Sabbath rest. For six weeks, I stepped back from the blessedness of daily ministry to rest, renew and reflect. For my sabbatical focus I used the Biblical passage “Be Still and Know that I am God” (Psalm 46: 10) allowing me the freedom to be present in the moment, giving up the stress of the past years and pushing away worries of the future. I wandered in parks, forests and beaches for hours with no plan. I sat for long periods of time listening to the rain (which we had plenty of!) or watching the birds and rabbits frolic in my backyard.
I understand that it is an incredible privilege and rarity to have such an abundance of time to be still. Yet I can’t help but wonder if an intentional spiritual practice of Sabbath rest – a few hours every week or even a full day every month- would offer a beautiful space for renewal and restoration. Sabbath rest deepens our relationship with God and leaves us energized for the joy and challenges of our daily lives. Sabbath rest should be considered as important as work.
Numerous books and blogs have been written about the spiritual practice of Sabbath rest. But the best way is to just do it – put Sabbath rest on your calendar like any other appointment and turn off your phone and laptop. See and smell the abundance outside in God’s creation. Sit quietly in a House of Worship or in a room in your home. Breathe deeply. Pray. Push worries and preoccupations out of your mind. Be still. Then repeat regularly. Imagine how future summers, and in fact all the seasons of our lives, could be if we rested regularly with God and were restored for the journey through life.
Reverend Stephanie M. Johnson is the Rector of St. Paul’s in Riverside.
