ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 29, 2025
It’s hardly surprising that the word sabbatical is connected to the word Sabbath. The word Sabbath is first found in scripture in the Book of Exodus, where we hear how the people are to remember the Sabbath. This notion of Sabbath comes out of the first creation story found in Genesis 1, where God rested on the seventh day. The word Sabbath in Hebrew is: shabbath, which is derived from the Hebrew word: shavath, which means to cease. Have you ever worked so hard that your body forced you to cease everything? I have known people who have worked to that place so often that they’ve experienced physical repercussions, significant and lasting health problems. There is nothing wrong with working hard, but the body and mind need rest. The concept of a weekly Sabbath, particularly in light of Israel’s narrative of slavery and forced labor, was an extraordinary gift and revelation of God’s perspective on the divine-human relationship. For these people, they were not slaves of a God who was some brutal taskmaster. Instead, they found a God who was genuinely concerned about them. Through this and other stories, we come to recognize that we were created to have purpose, which is often manifest in some expression of work (mind – body, or both), but living into that purpose must be done in a healthy way. And Sabbath, and sometimes sabbatical, are needed. As I have said before, I wish to thank Cypress Creek Christian Church for my Sabbatical leave that will begin next Monday. This may sound odd, but I am looking forward to reading. I read quite a bit, but it is almost entirely for work—sermon preparation, trying to better understand mental health issues our culture is facing, or an ancient spiritual practice. Don’t get me wrong, I find almost all of it fascinating. But I have a stack of books that I have been looking at for months. A member of the church, David Cook, gave me some summaries of books more than six months ago, and a couple of them spurred some interest… but I just have not had the time to actually sit down and read for my own engagement. I’m almost giddy as I think about it.
Continue to provide for us times when we can cease from what we have been doing so that we can rest and breathe and find deeper connection to you, O Lord of the Sabbath. We pray in the name of Jesus, the one who would slip away and spend time alone on a mountain. Amen.
