^“It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever,
for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” – Exodus 31:17

The hinge, I call her.
She, the one who links God with people.
She, the one who welcomes the weary.
She, the one who bridges the gap.

You may know her
by another name:
Sabbath.

Yes, Sabbath,
the lengthiest commandment,
number four, the one
who urges us to
still ourselves with
a Loving God.

Yet, she, the ancient one,
forgotten about in most circles.
Even the church has dusted her
into a corner with bustling
activities every day of the week.

Truthfully,
when has another Christian
sought genuine dialogue
around your
practice of Sabbath?

We politely look the other way
ignoring her glance
her invitation
assuming she is
antiquated in her ways.

Memories haunt
the elder generation:
Blue laws, strict rules,
no play to be had,
each and every Sunday.

Activities weigh
on 
the younger generation:
work to finish, sports to attend,
even youth group pulls
families this way and that.

But, there she is,
the hinge, patiently waiting:
a treasure to find,
a gift given,
a fresh surprise.

We’ve gotten it wrong.
She is not there
to bind us tight with rules,
but to liberate us
from what enslaves.

Let that sink in:
We, the ones made to be free
from that which binds:
our manic running,
our frenetic worry,
our desire for approval,
our tight control,
our imagined security

Sabbath,
a gift from Our Creator
to reconnect weekly
with the one who made us
in the image of rest,
the image of goodness,
the image of love.

Our weekly pause
to worship, give thanks
to simply notice
our beautiful lives,
to let the world spin without us.

Yes,
there is something grander
than our agendas.
It is the remembrance
that we are not God.
Maybe this week
we receive the rest
and allow
God to be God.

Books on Sabbath:

Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller

Sabbath As Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now by Walter Brueggemann

Sabbath: The Ancient Practices by Dan B. Allender