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El Dorado NEWS-TIMES – Saturday, January 28, 2017 – 7
Chapman: Sabbath time ‘not just going to church’
Continued from Page 6
Sabbath Time is not just going to church on Sunday, although that is an important part of it. Sabbath Time is also spending time doing nothing, but for a reason. It’s not goofing off, it’s not procrastination, it’s not laziness; it’s doing nothing with a purpose. Actually, a variety of purposes.
Doing nothing for a period of time reminds us that we’re not really running the universe, and the universe can get along quite well without us. Most of us have an over-inflated sense of our own importance, of how essential our efforts and input are. Funny how the universe seemed to do just fine for 13.7 billion years before any of us even showed up. To make ourselves do nothing for a little bit during the day, or for an entire after- noon on the weekend, reminds us of this.
It will probably be hair-raising when we first try it. “Look at all the things I could be doing right now! If I don’t get on this stuff right now, I might never get to it!” Yes, but 100 years from now, who will know? Slow down. Come to a complete stop. Cool your heels. It’ll all still be there when you go at it again, and what really needs to get done will get done, and the rest probably wasn’t as essential as you thought.
The longer you practice this, the more calming it will actually become. To real- ize the world doesn’t depend entirely on us is a great relief. I’m not God; you’re not
God; and letting the world go on without us for a while on a regular basis helps us remember who really is God, and relieves us of the awful burden of the impossible.
Doing nothing is helpful because it is a great time for reflection, for daydream- ing, for imagining. Our American frontier forerunners looked down on this kind of thing. There were too many chores to be done for anyone to sit around with their head in the clouds. Today we have the time to be still and let our mind have some playtime, if we choose to.
Another invaluable thing to do while we’re doing nothing, indeed at the heart of the original purpose of Sabbath Time, is prayer. Not making endless speeches to God. Not bringing out a laundry list which is little more than a homework assignment for the Lord. But learning the meaning of the Scripture, “Be still and know that I am God”; and, “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’” (Psalm 46:10a and Isaiah 30:15, NRSV).
Sometimes all that is needed is for us to take a few deep breaths, mentally place ourselves in God’s presence, and reflect on the good things we have to be thankful for. How reassuring and uplifting this can be, to take the time to remind ourselves, in the midst of a culture of scarcity, that in God there is an endless supply of goodness which reveals itself to us in so
Contributed Photo
Resolutions: A man and woman keep up their New Year’s resolution by working out at a gym.
many ways.
It’s not too late to make another New
Year’s resolution: to observe some Sabbath Time, perhaps a bit each day, and longer once a week. Think of the stress it will help us let go of. Think of the increased opportunities for imagin- ing, for practicing the presence of God this will give us. Here is a prayer that you might use to begin each period of person- al Sabbath Time:
“O God of peace, you have taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your pres- ence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
The Rev. Chuck Chapman is pastor of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in El Dorado.
You don’t need to be perfect to be loved by a Perfect God.
Meditation: A woman meditates in her living room. It has been proven that med- itation can reduce blood pressure, helping you live a healthier life.
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