How can I make Sunday the best day of the week? One of the ways to do so is to consider the weekly rhythm of Sabbath-keeping.
In order to get into the rhythm of God’s sacred Sabbath time, this is a question we need to learn to ask in the middle of each week: “How can I make Sunday the best day of the week?” And the best way I have learned to answer the that question is with another: “How can I fashion this day so that it is a day for making love?”
The concept behind the Sabbath is that God has given us the gift of time; 24 hours that are not to be crowded with the cares of the workweek; 24 hours for rest and recreation that are not to be intruded upon with the worries of ordinary time (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday).
There are many theological explanations for keeping the Sabbath “dance.” In fact, the more I practice, the more I learn, the more I agree with Karl Barth’s exclamation of “a certain awe. The radical importance, the almost monstrance range of the Sabbath commandment.” The more one studies Sabbath, the more there is to study and learn about it. Yet no theology stimulates me motivationally more than the love analogy.
I am learning to observe Sunday with a Sabbath heart, with the heart of a young woman who polishes her engagement ring; who holds it to the light so the diamond can catch the shining; who remembers that the setting apart of this day is meaningful to the One she loves; whose heart floods with joy at the thought that He (the Lord of the Sabbath) is coming in a special weekly visit, that the day will be spent in His company without the distractions of the workweek.
I look inward and make sure there are no idol suitors vying for my attention. For instance, have I watched too much television/video on the weekend, and are my thoughts filled with everything but my desire to know Him better. Is my heart chaste? Are my desires for my Loved One and for Him alone? Is there anything in my life that will cause Him grief or sadness when we come together?
And I am learning that Sabbath/Sunday is a love day, a day to adore. As I strive to celebrate Sunday with a Sabbath heart, I have learned that when the Loved One is near, I don’t work. I don’t need to spend an afternoon shopping or to spend Sunday catching up on the tasks I didn’t get done during the week. This is a day set apart for love. It is a day for dancing with God.
In fact, think of it like this: Sabbath/Sunday is a day on Earth that comes each week so that we can practice the steps of eternity where Sabbath never ends. We are practicing here in this time how to be good and loving Sabbath-keepers there, when we move beyond and out of time’s constraints.
So, how can I make Sunday the best day of the week? How can I set it apart so that it is a day ideal for making holy love?
Karen Mains
Other projects involving Karen Mains right now:
Karen continues to write for her new Christian blog, with topics relevant to Christian women and men in today’s contemporary world. Also, Karen Mains has been a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men. These days, however, she is finding joy in working in teams with highly qualified adults who bring spiritual teachings into her life in fascinating ways. Maturity is a state where the teacher realizes she learns as much from her students, she receives as much from her companions as she teaches and she gives. Hungry Souls is a ministry that is a laboratory for those who seek to develop spiritual growth tools that work. Check out Karen and David’s Web site,www.HungrySouls.org.
Making Sunday Special by Karen Mains
(back-cover copy, paperback edition)
Do you rush around on Sunday morning complaining and shouting instructions to a household in mass confusion? … “Why didn’t you tell me earlier the button was off your shirt?” “Stop teasing your sister.” “Don’t hog the bathroom.” “Hurry, we’re going to be late.” “Has anyone seen the car keys?”
Has Sunday-morning worship become an intellectual exercise without meaning? Do you rarely experience the presence of the Lord, even in His own house?
Then let Karen Mains show you how to make Sunday the best day of the week. For years Karen and her husband, David, have searched for ways to make worship more meaningful. Here Karen tells what they discovered in an examination of the Sabbath-keeping principles that not only restore to Sunday a sense of the holy but even give work and leisure renewed meaning.
Making Sunday Special is available for purchase through Sunday Solutions, the Webstore of Mainstay Ministries.
