Thoughts from my 'day off'

Today is Monday. As I write, I am sitting on my boat, enjoying an unbelievably beautiful late summer day on the York River. The humidity is low, the temperature is comfortable, there is a steady, gentle breeze. The fishing is not very good, but then again I didn’t really come out here to fish. I came out here to Sabbath.

You might be thinking, ‘hey, Sabbath is not a verb, it’s a noun.’ Well, you would technically be correct. But I’d like to suggest that Sabbath should be a verb. How else can we say it?
‘I came out here for a day off’ Not really. I mean, yes, today is my day off - but what do we really mean by ‘day off’? We mean that we don’t do our regular job but we substitute our other job. I know plenty of people who spend their ‘day off’ actually working a second, for pay, job. There is nothing wrong with that, but it’s not Sabbath.


Often when we talk about our ‘day off’, we refer to the day we don’t go into our regular work, but we stay home and do all that needs to be done there. Mow the lawn, clean the house, trim the shrubs, do the laundry, change the oil in the car, put the DVD’s back in their respective cases, spray for ants, plant the flowers, mulch the beds, powerwash the sidewalk, change the sheets on the beds…it is an endless list. And it’s important that we do these things. I would even argue that taking good care of the stuff we have is an important stewardship principle. But it’s not Sabbath.

Sometimes, when we talk about a day off, what we mean is doing nothing. We veg out in front of the TV or watch movies or sports…sleep for half the day…take the phone off the hook…never come out of our pajamas. Doing nothing is sometimes necessary and is often important and we certainly don’t do enough of it…but it’s not Sabbath.

We don’t really have good language to describe what the God had in mind when he gave this gift to us…so I want to start using it like a verb. “I’m off today,” you say. “Oh. Are you planning to Sabbath?” I might ask. “No, I have to study for school,” could be your reply.

So, if Sabbath is not resting, working around the house, going to a second job…what IS it.

I think it’s simply this: Re-connecting with God. Jesus said it like this:

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5, NIV)

This idea is powerful. Sabbath is where I take my battery and put it on the recharger. A battery doesn’t need a rest when it gets weak…it needs a charge. It needs to plug into the power source and soak up something that it does not have and cannot get any other way. That’s what Sabbath is. It’s a reconnection with God for the purpose of soaking up a power that cannot be obtained any other way. The power of knowledge. The power of forgiveness. The power of selflessness. The power of grace. The power of love.

I pulled out of my driveway at 6:40 this morning. I envisioned a nice day. I thought about catching some fish. I planned to cook myself some lunch – a good burger on the grill. I had in mind that I might take a nap. But if none of that happens, it will still be a successful day, because I didn’t really come out here to fish or to eat or to sleep. I came to Sabbath.