Hope I didn’t catch you (and me) at an awkward time, but are you already thirsting for encouragement in Sabbath-keeping this fall term? As I reflected upon the topic and prayed for the graduate students and faculty with whom I minister, I returned to Calvin College’s helpful Sabbath-keeping resource page for faculty. Below’s just a taste:
In an academic setting like Calvin where Monday signifies not only the beginning of a new week but the onslaught of classes to teach, tests to take (or give) and general all-around busyness, is it really realistic to rest from your work on Sunday? Is it even biblically mandated for the New Testament church?
In his book, Catch Your Breath: God’s Invitation to Sabbath Rest, Don Postema points out that that “the hectic pace of contemporary life makes the idea and practice of sabbath rest enormously attractive.” Yet this same hectic pace also, on the other hand, makes it incredibly difficult to slow down, let alone cease from the normal concerns of everyday life. In light of these considerations, two key questions must be answered: Why should Christians observe the Sabbath and how?
Two other links which come to mind when I consider the topic are given below. What resources, practices, and communities have you found helpful in Sabbath-keeping, particularly as a new term begins?
- A Guided Sabbath, a resource written by Sarah MacDonald & Jay Sivits for Following Christ in 2002
- Critical Junctures: The Spiritual Formation of Graduate Students and Young Faculty by Bob Trube.
