Council for Health and Human Service Ministries

Word and Deed: Thoughts on Faith-Based Leadership

Sabbath's Sacred Reminders

The featured author this month is Wayne Muller, keynote speaker for CHHSM's 2007 Annual Meeting. One of his books was highlighted in Word and Deed last September in an article entitled Sabbath's Sacred Six.

In his book entitled Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives, Muller extols the virtues of relaxation and the necessity of finding a balance between work and rest. We are reminded that a sense of renewal can be obtained in a two week vacation or taking two minutes to breathe and meditate. "Sabbath is more than the absence of work; it is not just a day off, when we catch up on television or errands. It is the presence of something that arises when we consecrate a period of time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful, nourishing or true. It is time consecrated with our attention, our mindfulness, honoring those quiet forces of grace or spirit that sustains and heals us. . . .Sabbath time can be a Sabbath afternoon, a Sabbath hour, a Sabbath walk."

Although we are encouraged to embrace Sabbath in its various forms, we are also called to a heightened sense of awareness around the growing trend of consumerism and the illusion of happiness that lurks beneath the surface. Muller's concerns are expressed throughout the book, but one particular chapter entitled The Gospel of Consumption offers a notable caution about spending money on things we do not need: "To want more and more, to grasp and desire and need ever-increasing amounts of goods and services, is neither a virtue nor a road to happiness, as our economic cheerleaders would have us believe. It is simply an insidious quality of the mind to desire what it does not have. Nevertheless, this has become our Gospel, our vision of Eden. And just as Eve was forbidden to taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, we are forbidden one thing: We must never, ever taste the fruit of the Tree of Happiness."

As you prepare for Sabbath, may you find solace in Muller's encouraging words, nourishment in his reflections on rest and relaxation, and wisdom in his comments on consumption. An excerpt from a chapter entitled The Sabbath Box follows to jump start your joyful journey: Make a Sabbath Box. When you set aside time for Sabbath--whether it is an hour, a morning, or a day--put in the box those things you do not want to use. For some, a computer or telephone will be too cumbersome, but something symbolic--an address book or a floppy disk--can serve as a physical reminder of what we leave behind when we enter sacred rest.

Shirley Nelson

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