Monday, March 16, 2020

A Chance to Practice Sabbath

We were already shutting down as a society, but the last few days have brought us to a grinding halt. With organizations (including churches) suspending their activities, schools shutting their doors, ski hills ending their seasons, and everyone practicing a little more social-distancing, we have found ourselves in a season of slowing down and staying home.

Which can be REALLY hard to do. It might get a little boring. We might get a little lonely.

But this is also a great opportunity to practice something we should be practicing with regularity anyway: SABBATH. It’s one of the main things we are commanded to do as people of faith, and yet we aren’t very good about actually making time and space to drop our normal work, be intentionally present with our loved ones, and do the things that bring us joy and rejuvenate our souls.

But the Coronavirus has given us this time to actually practice the Sabbath. So let’s do just that. Take time to play games and watch movies and read books. Take a nap. Slow down a little. Commit to family meals. Use this time of forced isolation as an opportunity to practice this discipline that we should already be practicing regularly. And maybe when the virus is gone and we emerge from our homes and get back to our lives, we’ll do so with a refreshed spirit and an increased commitment to being ‘sabbath people’ in all seasons.

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