The Spiritual Power of Sabbath
A review of Rob Muthiah’s The Sabbath Experiment: Spiritual Formation for Living a Non-Stop World (Cascade Books, 2015)
by Rev. Dr. Larry Golemon, RDM co-director
“Remember the Sabbath” can sound old-fashioned and irrelevant today. But we forget, that “remember” means to bring back into reality as a correction and challenge to the present. Rob Muthiah (Professor at Azusa Pacific Seminary in Southern California) brings this point home in powerful ways. This is the best book on the Sabbath I have read, as it weaves practices for church and home with a vision of the spiritual and theological power of the Sabbath—as an real answer to predicaments we face every day.
Consider how tied we are to our personal technology? How often do you let your phone interrupt a dinner with family, a lunch with a friend, or a conversation on the sidewalk? (And we wonder why our children today seem to be born with an umbilical cord tied to a cell phone….) Consider how much of our day is dealing with money: worrying about how far the next paycheck will go, how to buy or rent a place away from a violent neighborhood, or the Amazonitis of buying things online every other day (not to mention taxes—ugh). Or consider the drive for greater efficiency in the workplace, usually with less workers and more machines. Why are we afraid of AI robots when we are asked to live like one already?
Dr. Muthiah lives a real life outside the academy, so he knows of these predicaments--and other pressing ones like sports on Sunday mornings or our constant thirst for true rest or “a vacation.”. While he does not delve into the structural forces that create this exhausting economy, consumerism, and work demands, he challenges them head-on with concrete practices and a vision of the Sabbath that can set Wall Street and Amazon on their heads.
If you get the book (which I hope you do), jump ahead to the Conclusion and Appendices on preparations, guidelines, and simple devotion that builds an arsenal of Sabbath practices. Muthiah is evangelical, but no old Puritan, as his practical guidelines are gradual and adaptable: literally an “experiment” that every family, individual or congregation can tailor to their own lives. He invites us to prepare our homes with cleanliness, a full refrigerator, and a special meal and a shared worship (with candles if you want). On Sabbath day, consider unplugging devices, saying “no” to work (even from nosy bosses), playing non-tech games with friends or family inside or out, refraining from purchases or bookkeeping (although you might share the generosity of philanthropy), and taking a nap.
If not convinced by the tail-end of the book to begin this experiment in holy rest, peruse each chapter for other practical suggestions and reflective questions. Do you buy into the myth of having control over your whole life? Do you think self-worth is only marked by achievement or possessions? Do you really think that humans are called to “dominion” over creation by harvesting the earth of every valuable thing? Do you buy into the preached “order” of our world where the wealthy run things, the have-nots have to work harder, mostly white men mostly run the world, and women, children and people of color must conform. Hopefully you don’t accept all these things, and Muthiah will give you ammunition from the Bible, modern brain science, and notable public figures like Wendell Barry and Herman Wouk (the playwright) push back in your deliberations and your own daily practice. I am convinced by Muthiah, that regular Sabbath practice reframes how we live and work the other days of the week—especially in how we treat time, relationships, and healthy limitations to work and other addictions.
One of my loves is theology that intersects with Scripture, worship and daily life. Here, The Sabbath Experiment is a sneaky success. Sneaky because amidst all the practical and real-world recommendations are laced more Bible and theology than you knew before—and you will form a new spiritual vision of God’s desire for our lives. He explores how “keeping the Sabbath” is tied to all Ten of the Sinai Commandments: recalling the wonder and gift of creation through earth stewardship; recalling emancipation from Pharaoh’s slavery by opposing all slaveries today, challenging all the idols in our lives (including those mentioned above), and honoring the divinely given dignity and equality of all people. Reclaiming self-balance, relationships and community are key to the Ten Commandments, and Sabbath is the day when we honor all of these through ongoing, consistent practices. Muthiah reminds us that Sabbath is a covenant day, when God’s faithfulness to us through numerous promises from creation and Noah to the law and Jesus are gifts that we remember and live again through Sabbath practice.
Speaking of Jesus (which Muthiah does a lot), he erases the myth that our Lord was challenging and breaking the Sabbath at every turn. The plucking of grain for his disciples (and perhaps the poor crowds) in Mark 2:27 is actually allowed in Israel’s law as necessary work for survival, and Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath, as in Luke 6:6-11, is also allowed as an act of compassion and charity. He does so in part to point out that we have much to learn from Israel’s Scripture and our Jewish sisters and brothers today about the Sabbath—family meal, regular rituals or remembering, refrain from media bombardment, cultivating devotion, family time and contemplation. One of the greatest things Muthia learns from Jewish practice is the tradition of welcoming the Sabbath into our homes as a Queen—by preparing our home, offering a well-planned meal, presenting ourselves as rested and ready to honor. This atmosphere of preparation and celebration pushes aside the austere versions of Sabbath that some of our Puritan forebears lived by.
If I had one criticism of this fine book, it would be to expand the implications of honoring the Sabbath as a prophetic act in two ways: first as a protest against the powers of our world that do want to control and exhaust us and the earth, and second as a witness and anticipation of the kingdom that Jesus’ promised will come. This future or eschatological feature of the Sabbath is deeply Scriptural and revolutionary. In the meantime, The Sabbath Experiment will help us get ready for what God has planned next for us the world.
