Sabbath Flourishing
by Dr. Jeffrey Willetts
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of sitting with a number of former students currently involved in congregational ministry, as well as a number of fellow ministers from the churches that are in close proximity to my own. The purpose of the gathering was just that – to gather, and to talk, and reflect together on the journey of ministry and the journey that is our respective lives.
Since I went first I talked about what has become increasingly important to me, namely, finding a way to address the paucity of joy and delight that as Christians, should mark our journeys, but does not. My point of departure was reflection on a talk I heard given by a seminary friend and well-known theologian, Norman Wirzba, at a joint symposium sponsored by the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, Rising Day Ministries (then known as the Lord’s Day Alliance), and the Washington Theological Consortium.
Wirzba in his talk highlighted theological markers from his book that raise important questions for how well and to what degree our daily lives are congruent with or are reflective of our place in God’s Creation. Of particular interest to me was Wirzba’s reminder that the seventh day, the Sabbath in the order of creation, is its climax! He went on to draw out many of the implications of this deep biblical truth for the living of our ordinary lives. Most compelling for me was Wirzba’s reminder that God did not rest on the seventh day, if by rest we mean – took a break. God does not need to take a break! What the Scripture suggests is that God took delight – and He said that it was very good. Taking delight is active and energetic, purposeful and joyous!
Eureka! one might say was the experience. Here was the foundation of what is an entire theological orientation that pushes against so much of what seems missing in the lives of the pastors I meet and the congregations we all serve … Sabbath delight or as I prefer to say … Sabbath flourishing.
In our gathering together, I then went on to recount important ways that this quest has been a burden for me for a long time. Many years ago I went through a very dark and difficult time when I had to come to terms with profound personal betrayal and hearthache. I learned to operate out of a place that was fueled by deep anger and outrage. In the midst of that difficult time I had to have a come to Jesus meeting with Jesus, and the meetings were not very productive. But I was aware of others who having suffered as much or more lived with a kind of joy and resolve that far eclipsed my own. When I told a close friend I needed what the church ladies at Mother Emmanual had after the tragic violence that had taken place in that sacred place, he paused a minute and told me then “well then you’re gonna need another Jesus.” He was right. I did need another Jesus, or at least I needed to know Jesus very differently. I learned in the months and years to come to know Jesus through the lens of suffering, a lens which to that point I had not yet acquired or fully understood.
But in Wirzba talk, where he started was with Sabbath delight. And where he ended was in the New Creation that is the Resurrection. The trajectory of his commentary set my heart and mind on fire. This was the theological trajectory of my own experience and a path that made much better sense of the Gospel for my daily life. I was ready to go!
In the wake of that seminar, I have elected to work in the context of Rising Day Ministries in the hopes that others may receive the same Sabbath delight/flourishing that the Gospel so profoundly promises. And I am persuaded that if nothing else, Sabbath flourishing will preach in the lives of both pastors and the good people we are privileged to serve.
