I'm interested in the social and economic dimensions of Sabbath that are both personally experienced and participated in socially. Sabbath is connected to Jubilee and it seems everything in-between is integrated in this theme. Rest/Shalom/Sabbath are personal, social and transcendent. It seems to be an all-encompassing theme that is supposed to effect everything - economics, trade, land, politics, stewardship, relationships, health, etc.... It's a grander ethic that in the tradition of the Jesus sayings - demands more than the law does.
So I guess for me the Sabbath "day" is representative of a way of life that IS Sabbath. Therefore we should experience Sabbath all week and be reminded of its foundational effect by sacramentally practicing it at least one day of the week. Because we are prone to disorder, distortion, immaturity and selfishness in our sinful nature, Sabbath gives us the ability to sacramentally integrate our being into the worship of God as it relates to the realm of time. Because time is divided, conquered, and has an ability to fragment our life's focus, Sabbath seems to realign our whole being to the worship of God in spite of our dramatic and unsuccessful attempts at controlling time. It in fact controls us regardless of what we do and instead of fighting it, Sabbath allows us to participate with the realm of time in a worshipful way rather than in the desire to subjugate it.
Therefore participating in the order of how God works requires that we practice Sabbath so as to enter that order. We should not view Sabbath as an end - and not even as a means, but as the key to a holistic life of Sabbath. The biggest lie is that we can avoid the presence of God (Adam and Eve in the Garden), and Sabbath reminds us consistently that that is a lie. Everything we do (ethics) is in full view of God so celebrating a day where we intentionally become aware of his providential presence requires us to realize that there are always at least another set of eyes on our decisions, acts, responses, etc... The worst thing we can do isn't the initial act of injustice, selfishness or disrespect, it is the second act of denial that really distorts our ethics - the denial that did the act of injustice to begin with, the denial that we are wrong, the denial that there someone got hurt or was wronged in our act. In seeking to normalize our selfishness, we are denying the reality of the pain and distortion we have caused and are only compounding the first wrong with the second wrong of denial and avoidance. This is the greatest lie - that we can ignore the reality of an act, of the presence of the other, of the presence of God. We want to be able to transcend our awareness of them because it gives us the ability to oppress without cost and subjugate without concern for the well-being of the other. The farther we can remove the other from our awareness, the easier it is to oppress and subsume them into our self-focused agendas regardless of how it affects them. Sabbath doesn't allow us to commit the second wrong and it gives space for us to reconcile the first wrong! We cannot and should not subjugate the other for economic, political and personal betterments and in turn entrust our well-being, success and flourishing to the order God has instituted - the order of Sabbath!
Practicing Sabbath is a bold declaration of God's providence, goodness and concern for the under-privileged, those without leverage as well as our own inner life of peace and trust in God's order and providence. Just as we don't always realize the multiple negative implications of our privileged decisions on the under-privileged, our decision to practice Sabbath has the same over-flowing ability to benefit the under-privileged other. It does more than we could imagine or understand and so trusting God in justing "doing it" causes us and the "other" relief and shalom that we may not see right away or may never see. An entire orientation will begin and move is the direction of realizing the biggest lie that we believe in so many aspects of our life - Sabbath will give us the ability to begin exposing those lies we believe and removing their indolence and distortion, bringing new light and awareness on our everyday decisions of privilege and allowing us to enter into an increasingly holistic life of awareness, truth and reciprocity with God and the other. (The 1st and 2nd Greatest commandments).
Sabbath is the key that unlocks love of God and love of the other!
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