book review / Susan O’Loughlin Ward
A Gentle Antidote to Legalistic Lists

“Days pass,
Years vanish,
And we walk sightless among miracles.”

So says a Jewish Sabbath prayer quoted by Lynne Baab in her book, Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (InterVarsity Press, 2005). This prayer describes our experience in the frenetic, materialistic, productivity-driven milieu which is the twenty-first century West. We miss the incredible treasures God has for us because we lack eyes to see and ears to hear.

As I read this book, the words of Jesus in Eugene Peterson’s The Message (NavPress, 2002) came to mind:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest…Learn the unforced rhythms of grace…Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11).

This is the gracious spirit in which this wonderful book is written. In a gentle antidote to legalistic lists of what we may or may not do on the Sabbath, Baab invites us to experience the gift of the Sabbath in all its freedom and creativity. She offers helpful questions about how each of us might approach establishing Sabbath traditions, described as encompassing both praying and playing. Do our activities promote rest, bring delight, and give us a sense of holiness? What might be drudgery for one person may be the very thing that meets these criteria for another.

Baab writes persuasively that we have completely lost the biblical rhythms of time. Sunset means nothing in a culture with twenty-four hour lighting, instant messaging, voice mail and e-mail which keep us tethered to our jobs regardless of the time of day or day of the week. Sabbath-keeping is a gift to us, a chance to recover the gentle rhythms that God intended.

It is also an opportunity for us to sever the tie between productivity and self-worth. Baab says, “We want to have one day a week when we act out the reality that ultimately our worth comes from being loved by God, not from what we do.” She points out that Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day, so they spent their first day on earth resting in God’s presence. Only then did they turn to tending the garden. It is a refreshing difference in perspective from our culture’s emphasis on “earning” the right to a day off by first working hard.

Lynne Baab spent years living in the Middle East (first in Iran, then in Israel), and began her journey of Sabbath-keeping in the context of two cultures in which it is naturally woven into the fabric of daily life. She invites us join her in humbly learning from these cultures.

One of the things I most appreciate about this book is the way Lynne describes the changes in her habits of Sabbath-keeping in different seasons of her life. Her Sabbath day shifted as her and her husband’s work schedules changed over the years. The practices she follows also have changed as family life moved from one with young children to teens to empty-nesters, and as her professional life shifted along the way. She talks in very practical terms about discerning what constitutes rest in different seasons and for different personality types. She also does a wonderful job balancing the solitude and rest of the Sabbath with play and community-building. All these examples give the reader freedom to explore what would create Sabbath rest for them rather than following a rote set of practices that might stifle the very openness to God that the Sabbath was given to foster.

Lynne cites other authors who have written about the topic, but her primary sources for this book were her own experiences and those of many others whom she interviewed. That approach lends the book a practical authenticity that makes it both accessible and very appealing. She covers the theological underpinnings of Sabbath-keeping well without getting bogged down. This is a book for us “every-day” Christians (all of us who try to live out our faith and hear God in a frenetic world). The guidance offered is practical. This is not one of those books that lays out three easy steps to change one’s life and become a better Christian. It is far more subtle. It invites us to enter into the mystery of God’s precious gift of the Sabbath, not analyzing, but experiencing God’s grace as we create space for Him.

Each chapter concludes with a prayer and several questions for reflection, discussion and/or journal writing. It would be a wonderful book to read alone, with a spouse or children, or in a discussion group. Its message is one we all need to ponder more deeply.

book
Sabbath Keeping (2005)

exerpt
Chapter One

Audio
Listen to Lynne Baab interviewed on the sabbath by a New Zealand Christian radio station.

reviews
A Sabbath Testimony
Amy Kohley

A Gentle Antidote to Legalistic Lists
Susan O’Loughlin Ward

Reflections on Rest From the Neonatal Care Unit
Sarah Sanderson

Dine on This Sumptuous Feast Rev. Monica McDowell Elvig

A Day of Rest from the Should's and Ought's
Jeanette Krantz

articles

A Day Off From God Stuff? "Leadership Journal," Spring 2007

Gifts of Freedom: The Sabbath and Fasting to be published in "Conversations"

The Gift of Rest
Today's Christian Woman (Sept 2005)

Sabbath-Keeping—It's OK to Start Small Presbyterians Today (July/Aug 2005)

A Day Without a ‘Do’ List Discipleship Journal (July/Aug 2005)

Stopping: The Gift of the Sabbath Congregations (Summer 2003)

interviews
The Sabbath Doesn't Have To Be Perfect

Beyond a Sunday Nap

buy the book
(Amazon.com)
(ChristianBooks.com)