(from "Lutheran Link" - July/August 2003)

DOING THE SABBATH SHUFFLE
Bishop Margaret Payne
 

Since normally I have several responsibilities on Sunday, I try to set aside a day during the week which I consider to be my Sabbath.  Recently, on one of those days, I awoke early because my mind was filled with work-related issues.  I had a slower day than usual, but still checked my e-mail (because this was a good day to finally catch up), called two pastors, organized my briefcase and started this article on the importance of Sabbath.  What's wrong with this picture?

I had failed again to keep the Sabbath.  I had done the Sabbath version of what my father used to do, which my mother called: The Gatter Shuffle.  My father's family name was Gatter.  What he used to do, when dinner was finished and it was time to clear the table and wash the dishes, was to lean forward, place his hands on the table for support as though he were about to rise, shuffle his feet and say: "Let me help with the dishes."  My mother would jump up and say "No, that's OK, I'll do them."  She finally realized that he never had any intention of getting up to do the dishes.  He was only doing the Gatter shuffle, an action that indicated that he knew he should be helping, but was not truly committed to doing it.

Most of us do not keep Sabbath.  We only do the Sabbath Shuffle.  Pastors do it either by taking no days off, or claiming that Sunday is their Sabbath, even though they work hard most of the day.  Lay persons do it by filling the rest of their Sunday Sabbath with chores, errands, and office catch-up.  If we do rest, it is often because we are so exhausted that we must have rest in order to enable our bodies to continue the pace we have laid before them.  We know that we should keep Sabbath, but most of us are not really committed to doing it.

Keeping Sabbath is a wise and holy way of life.  You should find out more about what it means and do it.  I should listen to my own preaching and do it.  I promise you that I will try harder to keep Sabbath so that I can be a better model and leader.

If you want to know more about the reasons for and benefits of keeping Sabbath, you can read Marva Dawn's book, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly.  If you want to enjoy a wonderful read on a Sabbath day that is dedicated to worship, rest and community, you can read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  It is a book about coming of age, love overcoming racism and potential for ritual to make sense of life.  Sabbath is a kind of ritual, and it enables us to make sense of the great gift of life that God has given to us.

Stop doing the Sabbath Shuffle, and keep Sabbath.

Bishop Margaret G. Payne +