Sabbath Rest

There are different ways to talking about a day. Sometimes, when we mention a day, we are thinking of the time between sunrise and sunset, the portion of time when it it light outside, as opposed to night. Sometimes we use the same word, “day” to refer to a period of 24 hours - the span between midnight and midnight. Our calendars register the new day beginning at midnight.

The tradition for many years among faithful Jews, is to begin the recognition of Sabbath with sunset on the evening before the Sabbath. Often there is a special dinner. Synagogue series are usually held on Friday evenings. The entire next day is available for rest and recreation.

In the Gospel of Luke, there is just one sentence devoted to the day between the time Jesus was laid in the tomb and when his resurrection was discovered: “On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.”

Holy Week, with all of its intensity, special services, and preparations comes down to a day of rest, with just one sentence about the activities of Jesus followers.

Of course, they were overcome with shock and grief. I’ve often visited families on the day after the news of the death of a loved one was received. It seems like that “next day” is frequently a time for the first visit from the pastor. We might talk a bit about arrangements. I might learn of family members who are traveling to be with those I am visiting. We might talk about the one who has died. Sometimes the family is ready to begin planning a funeral. Sometimes we need to just share some space first. Sometimes no one needs to talk very much. Just being together is enough for a while.

It is that kind of shocked silence, with an occasional remembrance of Jesus that I imagine the disciples shared on that sabbath day when they rested.

In the Christian Church, since Roman times, there has been a tradition of a Great Easter Vigil that begins at sundown the night before Easter. That service is long and complex and requires a lot of planning. It is not, however, a popular service in mainline protestant congregations. I had never heard of the service until the revised United Church of Christ Book of Worship was published early in my career as a pastor. I didn’t attempt to lead such a service until fairly late in my career. When I did, only a handful of people attended the service.

For many Christians Holy Saturday is a day for rest and family and preparation. There are plenty of Easter Egg Hunts scheduled around the area for the day. The worship leaders in our congregation will probably be getting extra rest, sleeping in after an evening Good Friday service, resting up for a 6 am Easter Sunrise service.

My day of preparation will involve at least an hour of stringing origami butterflies onto fish line. I have a box of them, folded by members of the church, destined to be part of the time with children in worship and later a transformation of the “desert” bulletin board that has been up to display Lenten themes.

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Another day of preparation task at our house will be preparing prayer beads, sculpted out of special clay by the children, that will later be strung to make prayer beads as a gift for our lead pastor when she departs for sabbatical.

It is fitting that the “old” pastors - the ones who are semi-retired - are focusing their attention on projects of the children. We enjoy man different faith formation activities with people of all ages, but the children’s ministries are especially meaningful to us. And children’s ministry involves quite a bit of craft activity. We get to play with paint and tape and clay and string and beads. We get to prepare coloring pictures and quiet activities. We get to read and tell stories. It is a fun assignment for us at this phase of our life and ministry.

There have been days over the years when I led Easter worship services so tired that my emotions were raw and on edge. I cried easily, partly at the intensity of the Easter experience, and partly out of sheer exhaustion. I used to say that I could give a sermon for every day of Holy Week and then for the Monday that followed there was just one sentence: “The pastor took a nap.”

However, those days are behind me now. Through the grace of God the church is giving us a different kind of sabbath rest at the ends of our careers. We work fewer hours each week. We have less responsibility. We have time for personal projects, time to reflect, and time to rest. We have time for grandchildren and gardening and games.

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So today will be for me a special day of prayer. As I string the butterflies, I can reflect on the people who folded them. I can picture the fingers creasing the thin paper and making the precise folds to shape the figures. I can remember the concentration on the faces. I can think of the many gifts of those who gave a bit of their busy lives to fold a square of colored paper in a precise pattern. I can give thanks for their generosity of spirit and their gifts of time and talent.

I can also pray for the learners in our faith formation programs - for children who are just learning the stories of our faith - for confirmands who are asking questions that demonstrate a wisdom beyond their years - for adults who are making new discoveries about the interconnected nature of faith and life. I can picture the people with whom I share a book study in my mind and think of the questions they raise this week that left me pondering. I can recall the eagerness of the children as they carried Palms around the church last Sunday. My prayers will bring smiles to my face and joy to my heart.

So today, I will rest, according to the commandment. And tomorrow, we celebrate.

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