Cathedrals in Time... by Paul Charles “We must not forget that it is not a thing that lends significance to a moment; it is the moment that lends significance to things.” - Abraham Heschel When was the last time you took a break? I don’t mean slowed down—I mean actually stopped. Did nothing. Truly rested. We can probably all name a few hours here and there. Church counts, right? But I’m willing to bet most of us can’t name the last time we took a whole 24 hrs off. Does that concern you? I think it should. Jewish rabbis over the years have thought long and hard about God’s command to take a Sabbath; a command judged so important God placed it in the same list as not worshipping idols, not committing adultery, and not killing. They wrestled over its significance and why God commands us in Deuteronomy to “observe” the Sabbath, but in Exodus he says, “remember.” That’s got to be important. The whole idea of a seven-day week originated with Judaism, and along with it the principle of resting on the seventh day. It seems God initially commanded it to remind the Israelites of their slavery in Egypt. Just as they wanted rest then, so they should give their slaves rest now; the Sabbath had ethical implications. But when they came back from exile in Babylon, the Sabbath grew in meaning. It was something built into the very fabric of creation. God rested on the seventh day, right? “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:2,3). Ok, God rested, but not before he had finished his work…on the seventh day. Interesting. It doesn’t say God finished his work on the sixth day, but on the seventh. So what did he do on the seventh day? He blessed it and made it holy. God made something on the seventh day. All the other days God saw as good, but the seventh day he made holy. God made the Sabbath day holy; it wasn’t just meant to be different—it is different. In his book The Sabbath, Heschel observes that we spend so much of our energy doing stuff with space, but very rarely do we carefully consider how to shape time. We may spend a great deal of money and resources building cathedrals and churches, creating sacred space, but deep down we know that our God is a being who is experienced in time. For Jews, the whole week revolves around the Sabbath. It is “holiness in time.” They spend Wednesday through Friday preparing to “observe” the Sabbath (Deuteronomy),
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and Sunday through Tuesday “remembering” the one that just passed (Exodus). The Sabbath is a sacred “architecture of time,” set apart for God. In it we stop, let go of our need to do, and simply be. God, us, and our community. Not rushing, just resting. Christian practice has moved away from Judaism over the course of two millennia, but most of the movement concerning the Sabbath happened early. Followers of “the Way” began meeting on Sundays, probably because of its association with Jesus’ resurrection. Sunday was a day for celebration, and believers would meet together predominantly in houses. The practice of resting wasn’t that common, and it wasn’t until after Constantine made Sunday rest law in 321 AD that the church brought its theology in line with the state. Gradually, Sunday became a day of celebration and rest for Christians, and that is the tradition in which we find ourselves. A day of rest doesn’t need to be legalistic. Jesus said that God created it for you. It’s a gift. Why not try accepting it as one? Why not have one day a week where you do no work? Relax. Step off the treadmill for a while. Spend some time with God. Don’t check your e-mail. Stop staring at a screen. Do something that invigorates you. Bless others with your presence. Time is something you’ll never get back; use it wisely. Paul Charles is a graduate of Eastern University and an MDiv student at Palmer Seminary. When he’s not watching “real” football, a.k.a soccer, most of his time is spent reading “old” stuff, and applying it to today. A lot of his resulting musings are found at qotbpaul.blogspot.com
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