On Sabbath Rest
“‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things. But few things are needed – or indeed only one.’” —Luke 10:41-42
Winter waves in Sechelt, British Columbia
Today I reflect on rest. It was mentioned in a 1-credit class first trimester and never since. I speculate rest is the next nutrition, in the sense that eventually, people will realize a lack of it is responsible for the majority of disease and it therefore deserves a place in both medical education and patient care.
Unfortunately, in present culture rest is synonymous with watching TV, or our phones. This misunderstanding is tragic and likely why it is ignored as a critical part of health.
Rest is not laziness. On the contrary, true rest is active. It requires discipline. It is often harder to follow the steps of rest than it is to work, which is why most avoid it. According to the ancient definition, rest is the intentional act of remembering our true identity.
Regarding its origins, rest is one of the Ten Commandments. It’s up there with don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, and don’t murder. In the foundational core of Judaic and Christian law, we are commanded to rest at the same level of importance that we are commanded not to murder. What does this mean?
To understand, it is important to revisit the original intent of rest. In Genesis, God rested after the work of creating. There are two observations in this. First, that God works. Second, that God rests. Not that he needed to work or rest, but he chose to do both.
The pertinent question in the narrative is, what does God do when he rests? The answer is simple, he delights in his work. And what is his work? It’s his creation, it’s us!
We – human beings – are the work that he intentionally devotes his time and attention to appreciate, and delight in. We are his artwork, his masterpiece. He creates us and then sits back and proclaims us good.
The idea of rest and keeping the Sabbath – the weekly day of rest – is reintroduced in the story of Exodus. God has recently worked through Moses to deliver the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. As they wander in the desert, God commands them to keep the Sabbath as a way of remembering that they once were slaves and now are free.
Keeping Sabbath rest involves a lot of steps. The most central is to abstain from work, but also to spend time in fellowship with others, study scripture, and attend services to engage in prayer, song, recitation, and other rituals of remembrance and worship.
Once again, true rest is an active discipline.
Under the new covenant, the Sabbath remains a time to give thanks for our deliverance. But this time, the deliverance is not from being slaves in Egypt, but from being slaves to sin and death itself. It is a way to honor and appreciate what God desires us to know – that we don’t belong to the world and its systems, but rather, we belong to him.
A stirring illustration of this comes from the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary in the town of Bethany. Mary sits at Jesus’s feet, listening to his words, while Martha frantically deals in the preparations of hosting. The quote above is Jesus’s response to Martha, when she acknowledges the discrepancy and asks for Mary’s help.
“‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things. But few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better. And it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:41-42)
It feels like a bold reprimand to an honest request. But those are the best kind. In it, Jesus lovingly reminds Martha that she does not belong to the world, with its unspoken social expectations, but instead she belongs to him. In essence, he reminds her to carry true Sabbath rest in her heart.
I struggle with it every day. Sometimes I’m a Mary, centered on my eternal identity, but other times I am certainly a Martha, caught up in the inertia of the world and the attractive counterfeit identities it offers. What can I say, I am easily seduced.
But that’s the point. Remembering and resting in our true identity, as the masterpiece of creation that is declared good by the Creator himself, is hard work. It’s not for the faint of heart in a world full of shame, brokenness, and temporary identities.
The best part of practicing the steps of Sabbath rest – in order to remember our true identity – is that it re-aligns the posture of the heart to simultaneously be one of complete confidence and absolute humility. Confidence in our restoration through the free gift of grace, and humility because it is undeserved, with no way of earning it.
I recognize the ancient perspective on rest is unfamiliar. I chose to reflect on it because it offers value to the world of holistic healthcare. Withdrawing from the pull of the world’s demands is hard, and often countercultural. But it restores the soul, and lets us be refreshed by living water.
At Columbus Naturopathic Medicine, we provide faith-based care to help you experience God’s design for meaning, purpose, and connection. If you are interested in working with Dr. Leah Gusching, you can learn more and schedule an appointment by clicking the link below.