Chavonn Shen

Making Room for Rest Amongst Work

—Chavonn Shen

Day 1 of 3: Keeping the Sabbath

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

—Luke 13:10-14 (NIV)

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

—Exodus 20:8 (NIV))

In my household, I'm known for making procrastination pancakes. They're exactly what they sound like - when I procrastinate, I end up cooking, and a lot of times it's pancakes. I'll end up with a fridge full of breakfast food, but my laundry still isn't done, or I'm still behind on grading my students' homework. Hence, procrastination pancakes. The tasks I do to distract myself inevitably bite me in the butt because I'm doing work that I shouldn't be doing when there are other things to get done. It's a bit like the scripture read today - synagogue leaders were mad at Jesus for doing work that they thought he shouldn't be doing and they thought Jesus was distracting them from the holy rule of honoring the Sabbath. But Jesus let them know that there's always work to be done, and he healed a woman who needed healing.

Healing a woman with serious health problems on a day when you supposedly should be resting isn't quite the same as me cooking procrastination pancakes when I should be working, but you get the gist of what I mean.

Keeping the Sabbath, as our Biblical ancestors did, was a way to recharge, reset, a way to remember who they were. Six days of the week we work, and on the seventh day we rest.

But resting doesn’t mean that we don’t have to do work, especially work that needs to get done in order to be a functioning human.

Figuring out what rest means is redefining what work means.

There are still necessary tasks to do on the Sabbath that keep us alive. And part of that means redefining work. And part of redefining work means figuring out what heals you amongst all of the distractions. But a part of establishing a healthy Sabbath practice means knowing what kind of work you need to do most and not letting that other stuff distract you from recharging and relaxing. Jesus knew when work needed to be done but he also knew the importance of rest. It’s a balance.

Prayer

God of healing, remind us to rest amongst the work we do for ourselves and our communities. Amen.


Chavonn Williams Shen (she/they)

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