Re-thinking Sabbath

Santiago and Teresa

What if a Sabbath isn’t just about rest? We first encounter Sabbath when God finished the work of creating the world and rested on the seventh day (Gen 2:2). In the next verse, God blesses the seventh day and declares it hallowed (or holy). I’ve heard preaching about the Sabbath for years and many times the admonition is to attend a worship service and reframe from all work. I’ve always been a churchgoer, but as hard as I’ve tried, I’ve never been able to come close to avoiding all work and effort on a Sunday after worship. Whether it was cooking a Sunday meal or catching up on work (including homework), I have always had something on my “to-do” list that carried over into Sunday and again, I failed to “keep” the Sabbath.  I’m re-thinking Sabbath in light of the third verse in Genesis 2 in which God declares the Sabbath as a “holy” day. When God blesses the day, it becomes rich with blessings.