Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World

by A.J. Swoboda

more critical than a gift is how we handle the gift.

The Sabbath is a gift we do not know how to receive. In a world of doing, going, and producing, we have no use for a gift that invites us to stop. But that is the original gift: a gift of rest.

Sabbath forgetfulness is driven, so often, in the name of doing stuff for God rather than being with God.

because we do not preach the Sabbath, our congregations are not challenged to take it seriously themselves.

To keep a Sabbath is to give time and space on our calendar to the grace of God.

Humanity was made on day six of creation. Day seven was that day in which God, Adam, Eve, and the whole garden ceased from productivity and effort. Striking as it is, Adam and Eve’s first full day of existence was a day of rest, not work.

The Sabbath teaches us that we do not work to please God. Rather, we rest because God is already pleased with the work he has accomplished in us.

Sabbath reminds us that “our time” was never our time in the first place. All time is God’s time. And the time we have been given is to be used faithfully in worship of him.

Sabbath is that kind of complete reorientation of our lives toward the hope and redemption of Christ’s work. Sabbath baptizes our week into the grace and mercy of God.

The biblical creation account essentially served as a theological rebuttal of all the other “gods” who never allowed anyone to rest. In a restless world, Yahweh required rest. Again, imagine what kind of first impression that would have given to an ancient person’s understanding of Yahweh. The God of Scripture not only rests himself but invites the world to rest with him.

The impression would undoubtedly have been that Yahweh was the Lord of time.

God’s entire creative action in making everything signifies not only his sovereignty, lordship, and authority over creation but also his sovereignty over time.

Sabbath is a moment of eternal glory momentarily breaking into our finite, present world.

The biblical story tells us that to rest one day a week is to be truly human, and to not rest is to be inhuman.

The Sabbath day is a holy day. Interestingly, the only thing God deems as qadosh, or “holy,” in the creation story is the Sabbath day.

Long before the techniques of italicizing or emboldening text, repetition was the ancient author’s literary tool to highlight an idea.

The intrinsic goodness of creation speaks to an important practice of Sabbath living—the need of humanity to reflect on and delight in the goodness of what God has made.

This first “not good” reveals to us something about humanity’s nature. Namely, God did not create human beings to exist with God alone. Adam needed food, water, rest, and relationship. In fact, God’s design for humanity was complete only in relationship with God and others. That is, despite the fact that Adam had most of his creaturely needs met—such as food, water, work, and even an unmediated relationship with the living God—Adam still lacked something. One need remained to be filled. Adam needed a helper—he needed human community.

the need for rest, or Sabbath, is not an aftertaste of human sinfulness, unlike our chronic inability to receive rest. In fact, as we shall see, Sabbath is a foretaste of heaven.

To Sabbath is to live as God intended. When we enter into that rest, it is like entering back into Eden.

Sabbath is a scheduled weekly reminder that we are not what we do; rather, we are who we are loved by.

work is a reflection of Sabbath-keeping. Work is a benefit of our rest.

loves me too. I could love others only to the extent that I could recognize God’s love for me.

Sabbath is God’s eternal way of helping us worship our good God and not worship the good work he has given us to do.

studies continue to reveal that pastoral burnout is connected to the pastor’s sense of being and worthiness.

Sabbath rest assumes work. That is, the Bible has a word for Sabbath minus any work: laziness. Likewise, the Bible has a word for work without a Sabbath: slavery. Rest is not truly possible without work, and work is not done appropriately without rest. A balance is required for them to both be what they were created to be.

The Sabbath reminds us that nothing that is worth doing can be fully achieved in one day. Indeed, our work is always incomplete.

To work and toil and strive and never take a moment to stop and enjoy it all is living under the curse rather than God’s promise.

Sabbath is not a reward for a job well done. Sabbath is the result of a world that is oriented toward a good and generous and loving God.

What constitutes Sabbath rest, and what constitutes work?

Is the activity in question life giving, or is it life taking? That is, does it bring us life, rest, hope, wholeness? Or does it drain us, pour us out, stress us, or load us down?

Sabbath is a benevolent servant but a malevolent master.

Sabbath is no hall pass from responsibility or compassion.

The Sabbath should never be a disengagement from the love of neighbor.

not every disturbance on the Sabbath is a “Sabbath emergency.”

What defines work? And rest? Our hearts. Are we entering into trust and love and peace and goodness? Are we being thankful? Can we be still? Sabbath invites us into the freedom of God’s love.

the neurotic yes is secretly given because we see human effort as the only way God’s kingdom can be built in this world.

Not every need represents God’s will for our lives.

Cornelius Plantinga offers a helpful definition: “The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.”

Sabbath is a glimmer of Eden’s shalom in our world marred by chaos.

Tikkun olam is God restoring our shattered bodies, minds, communities, and ecosystems through our letting go of our own mastery over the world and entering into the mystery of God.

to Sabbath is to not do theological inquiry that I have been doing all week long. I must put aside trying to acquire knowledge about God and simply learn to be with him. I should think of him, but not for the purpose of producing something.

The principle is this: the Sabbath is opposite day. By that, I mean that it is wise to aim our Sabbath activities around what we do not ordinarily do for work.

Sabbath offers us a counterrhythm to whatever we have been doing for the workdays.

we must begin to critique any notion of heaven that is used as a distraction from the pain and difficulty of the world God has placed us in. Think about heaven—just make sure it makes you earthly good.

Heaven is why we remain to serve the world around us. Heaven is not escapism. Neither is the Sabbath.

To enjoy the Sabbath is to free ourselves from the temptation of total control over the world. To Sabbath is to crucify our desires for control over the world.

We are returning to God the responsibilities that he has given us to hold for a time, and we are returning to God, whom our ultimate responsibility is toward.

The way we now receive news leads to “compassion fatigue,” a real onset of exhaustion from the concerns of the world. Studies show how the flooding of news actually harms our ability to have real compassion and do something helpful.

Sabbath gives us the rest we need to do the good Jesus calls us to do.