Earlier we discussed a little about how food and the rhythm of time are intertwined, especially if we eat seasonally. But I want to bring up another rhythm- the rhythm of work and rest.
We as Christians affirm earlier Jewish thought, which sees a rhythm of rest and work imbedded in the Creation story. God himself worked and then rested, so, therefore, we work and rest. Sadly, the communal practice of Sabbath rest has largely been lost and for many Christians, Sabbath-keeping is absent from our lives. But I think it will make a come back. I know, at least in my life, it already is.
Our culture is one of busyness. We work really hard and then, when we have time off, we have forgotten how to rest so we either work more (these are the folks with immaculate houses), spend money, or we collapse in front of television and emerge again hours later feeling pale, shaky, and even more worn out. A few years ago I began to question in earnest how the gospel impacts our relationship with time. How should the church repudiate the workaholism, consumerism, or sloth of our culture?
This questioning led me to some books about the Sabbath, and my husband and I slowly began trying to keep the Sabbath. We’ve kept at it now for well over a year with varying degrees of success, but we’re learning, and, at this point, there’s no going back. We love the Sabbath. We both have commented that our very bodies know it is Sunday now, and even if we wanted to do something “productive” (which we don’t), we probably couldn’t.
However, the day (at its best) is not just a day of sheer laziness. We vary the way that we celebrate the Sabbath from week to week, but our celebration always contains 2 activities: worship and rest. We go to church and worship with our community, and some days we also spend time alone or together in prayer. And we rest. This, for me, is the trickier part. What the heck is this “rest” of which I speak? Well, practically, it means that we cease from working or causing anyone else to work, so we don’t spend any money. We don’t go to restaurants (which has been pretty hard since so few of our friends at church keep the Sabbath and we always have to say no to the eating out invites that we get for Sunday lunch). We don’t shop. We don’t buy gas. I try to stop worrying about my “To Do” list for the week. Instead, we usually go on long walks together and catch up with each other (a highlight of the week for me). We often go for hikes or try to relish beauty in some way. We invite friends over. Sometimes we sleep or read. This past weekend it was cold and wet outside, so we skipped the walk, made some kettle corn and hot tea, crawled under the covers, and read C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce aloud to one another. It was as splendid as it sounds.
So what does this have to do with food you ask? Well, the Sabbath is meant to be a celebration. A celebration where we remember the first Sabbath when God rested after calling his creation good, and we look forward to the Sabbath to come when we will rest more deeply than we can even imagine now. And like all good celebrations it should have a feast. So this is my request: Let’s bring back the Sunday Lunch!
I don’t always do this, but ideally, on Saturday J or I would make something really, really yummy and then, after church, we’d come home and feast. My husband is dieting these days, so Sunday meals have become especially important as the diet is banished and we enjoy food that day. On Sunday, we remember enjoyment- enjoyment of beauty, of food, of each other, and, most importantly, enjoyment of God. So this Saturday, I’m going to try to make something we love to eat, and on Sunday we will feast. I hope that you join us!
For further reading on the Sabbath here are some recomendations
1. The gnome (aka my husband) wrote a great blog post a while ago about his adventures in Sabbath keeping.
2. Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn
3.Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner
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