Sabbath Is More Than Bodily Rest

by Eric Elkin

“Then he said, “The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath”

— Mark 2:27

“I live to work” was an observation once shared with my wife by a co-worker. The statement was not one of pride nor a feeling of satisfaction. The co-worker was exhausted and, at some level, was questioning the purpose of her existence. Her job made her time off seem like just another chore. However, the second job did not pay.

As a society, we discovered the healing power of rest during COVID. Unfortunately, our genetically programmed sense of routine led us to work twice as hard to return to a traditional work week. Sometimes, we enjoy complaining about our problems more than fixing them. Recently, I discovered one person doing something radically different to change the American workweek.

Mike Neundorfer is the CEO of Advanced RV in Willoughby, Ohio, a town very close to where I grew up. Advanced RV makes high-end, custom-designed recreational vehicles. The labor time to create one of these vehicles and their high demand means it can take two years to fulfill an order. One might think the CEO would encourage his workforce to work extra hours to help speed up delivery. Neundofer went in the opposite direction.

A year and a half ago, Advanced RV, along with 200 other companies, joined a global trial program exploring the impact of a four-day workweek. The trial is testing to see if a work week can be shortened without decreasing productivity. Amazingly, the employees at Advanced RV did not take a pay cut. They still get paid the same amount as a 40-hour work week, but they only work 32 hours. Every employee gets a 3-day weekend every week. It is like having 50 days of vacation in the old model.

“If you don’t take a Sabbath, something is wrong. You’re doing too much, you’re being too much in charge. You’ve got to quit, one day a week, and just watch what God is doing when you’re not doing anything.”

— Eugene H. Peterson

Despite the worker satisfaction in the trial program, the words, “I live to work,” keep ringing in my ear. Reforming the American work week is a positive step in the right direction. Still, I don’t think it will solve all our problems. It does not answer the question, what am I living for? What satisfies my hungering soul and breathes joy into my being?

For centuries, the Christian Church took a legal approach to the Sabbath. Going to church and worshipping the Lord was something done out of obligation. God needed our worship. But you will notice in our reading today this is not Jesus’ approach. Jesus teaches the legal-minded leaders that the Sabbath is for humanity. The Sabbath is a gift to be opened and celebrated, not a work requirement to be fulfilled. We worship God to hear the words of eternal life and be reminded of God’s deep love for us.

Sunday worship definitely involves a work restriction. However, it is also about renewing the mind and spirit, not just physical rest for the body. We are invited to look deep within creation and other creatures to see where the peace that passes all understanding dwells. God knows we will also discover abundant life in a time and place apart.

Click to read Mark 2: 23-28