The word for sabbath in the Hebrew means stop, cease, cut it out. Every sabbath we hear the call to stop being so productive. Stop worrying about your future, and stop collecting more stuff. Just stop it. God himself stopped and rested from his creation on the sabbath, not because he was tired, but in order to enjoy all that he had created and called good. Thus creation culminates not in work, but in doxology.

We tend to think of rest as a means to being more productive. But the Bible claims just the opposite. It is work that is a means to an end, and the end is sabbath rest. The sabbath exists not for the weekdays; the weekdays exist for the sabbath. This is why our sabbath observances at church always have a note of celebration in them. God is good, and in worship we proclaim our thanksgiving.

In 1964, Jean Vanier established a community for mentally and emotionally handicapped people called l'Arche. Vanier soon discovered that those with developmental disabilities, robbed of all pretense, reveal the essence of true humanity. Thus his community has insights for all of us. One of the most important things they do at l'Arche is to celebrate birthdays, accomplishments, anniversaries, anything else they can think of. If a week goes by without a celebratory event, they just make one up. Why? Because as he says, "Suffering is a part of life, and you can never wait until the suffering is over to celebrate."

-- Craig Barnes