Sabbath in the Suburbs by MaryAnn McKibben Dana

Author:MaryAnn McKibben Dana [Dana, MaryAnn McKibben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religious, Religion, Biography & Autobiography, Family, Christian Life, Spiritual Growth
ISBN: 0827235224
Publisher: Chalice Press
Published: 2012-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Work of Sabbath: Fast from One Thing

The tech Sabbath suggests yet another approach to Sabbath—to go about one’s day as usual, even if that includes work or errands, but to fast from one thing. Too tethered to your iPhone? Thoughts coming in 140-character bursts due to Twitter overload? Perhaps Sabbath can be nothing more than unplugging one’s devices and focusing on the here and now.

Or are you a supercommuter? Do whatever you want on your Sabbath, as long as you don’t get in the car. Fast from driving.

Fitness fanatic? Let the Sabbath be the day you let your body rest. Fast from exercise.

The Sabbath may also be a day to fast from abstract things, like worry or snarkiness. (I have a pastor friend who began a sermon in Lent by saying, “I once tried to give up sarcasm for Lent. That went well.”) It’s easier said than done, but giving something up for one day a week feels more manageable than seven.

I even wonder about Sabbath as a day to fast from a diet. Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. There’s a whole host of medical reasons why some people should not break their diets. But for folks who are simply trying to have a healthier lifestyle, it’s possible that a day to “feast” may help set Sabbath apart. Feasting is certainly part of the Jewish Shabbat—good food and wine are an integral part of the day. If you’re on a diet, Sabbath can be a fast from the fast.

Recently I have been so busy with church stuff that I’ve felt like every available moment has been filled with work. It’s all thinking stuff, and I realize that I am completely spent mentally. (The recent extinction burst proves this.) So I take Friday as an extra sabbath day, but my Sabbath will be a fast from anything intellectual. I do several loads of laundry, which I normally avoid on Sabbath. Based on the traditional definitions of Sabbath, I’ve broken all the rules. I’ve changed my environment; I’ve tamed the chaos; I’ve worked. But it’s not intellectual work. And with this different approach, an activity I normally find every excuse to avoid is strangely … restful.

* * *

Near the end of February, we are eating a late breakfast when we hear a familiar chirp that seems to come from right outside the kitchen window.

I stop midbite and look at Robert.

“Yep,” he says bluntly. “I heard them the other day.”

The birds are back.

Every year they take up residence in the exhaust vent of our range hood. We have a screen over the outside opening, yet they still get in somehow, build a nest, and lay eggs. We hear them when the weather is still cool enough that we aren’t spending much time outside. Later in the spring, we begin to see them as well, when we sit on our deck on nice days. A streak of brown will catch my eye and I will see Mama Bird flutter her way to the duct and somehow wriggle inside, bits of straw and twig poking out of the hole.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.