the sabbath and work

courtesy image of digitaldutch.com

Those of you who regularly read my blog know that I often post as if I know what I’m talking about.  Whether I do indeed know what I’m talking about aside, this post is not like those others.  In my studies on Isaiah 58 (here, here, and here), I’ve come to the section on Sabbath — and I’ve got more guesses than answers.  Here is Isaiah 58:13-14 directly from the NIV (because I feel that I can’t paraphrase and summarize that which I don’t fully understand):

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.

Here is what I do know:

• This passage follows the section on fasting — which encourages fasts that promote or empower social justice and service to others.  The chapter as a whole seems to disapprove of holy days for the sake of holy days and downplay seeking God for the sake of personal relationship.
• This passage begins with familiar words to not “do as we please” on the Sabbath.  This is the same phrase we saw in verse 3 — “yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please.” — and was defined as exploiting others and quarreling, or simply by being disobedient to God.
• I assume, taking into account the context, that keeping the Sabbath has some meaningful relationship with social justice and service in the community — or at least in creating the kind of people who spend themselves on such.
• This is not the first time we see justice and the Sabbath in relationship.  For example, just two chapters earlier (Isaiah 56), we see keeping the Sabbath as part of a definition of maintaining justice and doing what is right.  Honoring the Sabbath may be used in these two chapters simply to designate what those who trust in God do and how they act — as if “keeping the Sabbath” is a phrase that could be translated “being obedient to God.”

So this is my current understanding / view of Sabbath (which is very open to discussion):

• I find Sabbath written about in a great many ways, which seem (to me) to be difficult to harmonize — so I’ve taken most of my understanding from the example set by God himself during creation.  God worked for six days, creating that which was good, and then rested on the seventh day.  We place a great deal of importance on the resting part (and probably have good reason to do so), but I have to at least wonder if part of the significance of Sabbath is the work itself.  Perhaps the six days of creating and doing that which is good might indeed be the focus?
• I see the Sabbath as a day to rest in God AND to reflect on all the good I have done during the week (by God’s power in me, of course).  God is glorified as I work to the best of my abilities, but even more so, the work I do should create an “atmosphere of good.”  In God’s image, I create.  I create a life of obedience to him.  I create situations in which he is given glory.  I create opportunities to share his goodness with others.  In essence, I create worship by being obedient to God — not only my own life of worship, but others will see my good works and worship he who has changed my life.
• So the Sabbath becomes, in a way, the sign of my obedient and worshipful life.  It’s not that I’ve set aside a day to worship God; it’s that I’ve set aside six days to worship God, and one to reflect on that week and take it all in.  It’s not that I celebrate God one day each week; it’s that I’ve set aside that one day to celebrate all the good he’s accomplished (through me, even) during that one week.

I think this definition addresses the synonymous use of the phrases “keeping the Sabbath” and “being obedient to God.”  Only if we are maintaining justice in our communities, only if we are feeding the hungry, only if we are creating good, can we truly “keep the Sabbath.”

I, too, believe these ideas speak deeply to the communal Christian life.  Sunday (if that’s the day of your Christian gathering) shouldn’t be about offering God the worship of that day;  but it should be a celebration of all that you’ve offered in worship that week.  On Sundays we bring our lives of obedience and lay them before God as a sacrifice to him.  We offer to him the fruits of our labors, the good we’ve created in his world.  It wasn’t the day of rest that was called good, but the six days of work prior to that day of rest.

What are your thoughts?  I truly am seeking to have a better understanding of the Sabbath, and am definitely open to ideas.  What does it mean to celebrate the Sabbath?  How is it related to social justice and community service?

the burden of the distance

I don’t write a great deal about running and triathlon on my blog, despite the fact that these are two of my favorite hobbies.  They’ve been on my mind a lot this past couple of weeks, though, because I’ve increased my training and started looking for nearby races in which to compete.  Here are some of my recent thoughts:

Training for distance races doesn’t lessen the mileage, but it prepares us for the wear that accompanies those miles. We learn discipline.  We learn efficiency.  We learn how to endure the pain.  We find the rhythms of our running, and we learn to enjoy the miles.

Preparing for these races is a learning process.  The burden of the distance never disappears, but our abilities are heightened as we learn how best to carry the weight of those miles.  And we feel lighter.

It reminds me just a bit of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We don’t have to be overwhelmed or weary from our burdens.  Jesus offers to share with us his yoke as he teaches us his way of life.  He empowers us to run the miles with joy.  And we have rest in him.

Wow, that sounded trite and fluffy (reminded me of a particular writer with my religious tribe).  I think I’ll just let you make your own analogies.

Do you run/bike/swim distance races?  What are you training for?  What have you learned about life from your training?

hospitality and rest: answers to a missionary predicament

A little over a week ago, I offered an installment of “Missionary Predicaments” in which I discussed the difficulties of finding rest as a missionary in rural Tanzania.  [And in case you're wondering why so many more people read that post than any other of mine... it's because it made that day's Freshly Pressed.]  I promised to give a report on how our family has decided to solve this problem of seeking rest while in another culture.  This post is that report.  The original post, complete with background and cultural issues involved, is here.

Overwhelmingly, your answers affirmed that, yes, it is extremely important to have times of rest — and that everyone deserves this, no matter who they are.  I’ll be both honest and blunt; my post wasn’t really about whether or not we need rest — this much we know.  Rather, we wanted to discover a culturally appropriate way to find (or create) that rest.  So, for the sake of brevity, we’ll assume at this time that we all agree rest is needed for the missionary living in Tanzania.

Your Answers

The following seemed to be the standard answers for how to create a time for sabbath:

• Tell people knocking on your gate that perhaps you can meet another day.
• Ask local pastors how they find time for their families.
• Make it clear when you are off-limits to visitors.  But try to be polite.
• Pray, and God will give you an answer to your questions.
• Don’t try to be so much like a Tanzanian; you’re not one.
• Send visitors to someone else who is available on your day off.
• You can lie if that’s what it takes to get rest.
• Have some cardboard cutouts of people readily available.  It will look like you’ve already got guests.  [This was my favorite answer.]
• Leave town.

Jesus’ Example

I can’t think of a single time in scripture when Jesus turned away someone seeking his counsel or company.  [If you know of one, please provide it.]  Rather, it seems if Jesus was approached, he willingly shared his time with that individual or group.  We will strive to do the same.

But Jesus certainly valued rest.  He purposely sought sabbath and time alone with the Father.  He also modeled this for his apostles.  We will aspire do the same.  [Though I can't say I'm entirely comfortable insisting I have free time for watching West Wing or Scrubs.]  We will set aside free time, but if it is interrupted we will minister (hopefully without complaining).  Have a look at Mark 6:30-34:

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.  But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things.

Firstly, I should ask, “Since when is running faster than taking a boat?!”

Secondly, I should be clear that finding personal prayer and Bible study time here in Tanzania is not our difficulty.  I am generally up before sunrise every morning, with at least a couple of uninterrupted hours to read, pray, and write.  Christie also has been able to find time for her personal devotions.  And nearly every evening after dark, it is only our family together until we go to bed.  We sing with Baylor after reading a book to her, pray together, and generally are able to relax a bit.  I don’t want to come across as if we’re never alone or can’t find time to read our Bibles or even chat.  Rather, it’s a full day off that we seek — or a weekend of sorts.  A time we know can be used for going running, reading, watching TV, or playing a game.  These are our solutions:

• We will be available to those who seek us at any reasonable hour of the day — which generally are the only hours people visit.
• We will continue to have Bible study times, family dinners, and general relaxation at times when people ordinarily do not call on us — early morning and after 7 pm.
• We will set one day aside as a sabbath each week, but if it is interrupted so be it.  We won’t lie (which is culturally acceptable) or attempt to explain why it’s important for us to rest.  We will have compassion and minister to those whom God leads our way.
• But also like Jesus, we will regularly create moments of sabbath.  We will do this primarily in two ways:
  • by joining with our teammates here in Geita.  When spending time with our missionary friends, it is very unlikely that we’d be interrupted — because, whether we are at our house or someone else’s, the host already has visitors.  And having guests is an extremely acceptable reason for not spending time with others in Tanzanian culture.
  • by occasionally leaving Geita in search of rest.  We can get away to Mwanza for a weekend without much difficulty.  And we actually need to be there periodically anyway — to restock on supplies we can’t get in Geita, check our post office box, and get repairs or regular maintenance work done on our truck.  Also, it’s in many ways easier for us to relax in Mwanza because there are places that are actually restful to us: a restaurant on the shore of Lake Victoria with hamburgers and skinny fries, a hotel that lets us swim in their pool for an affordable daily fee, and other missionary friends with whom we can visit.
• We will “build up” time for those weekends away in Mwanza by working 6-day weeks during our time in Geita.  We feel one day off per week is both reasonable and mostly possible.  It will give us enough rest to minister well here in town, and will afford us opportunities to truly enjoy our rest in Mwanza in ways we can’t here in Geita.

Related Thoughts and Items of Interest

One interesting idea in the course of this deliberation was brought up by a couple of the shepherds from our sending congregation.  They reminded us that it’s important to model sabbath for the people here in Geita.  My wife is incredibly wise and brought to that conversation the fact that Tanzanians commonly celebrate and experience sabbath by visiting other people’s homes, or by hosting others in their homes.  What, to us, feels like work is, to the people of Geita, rest.  So by regularly using what would have traditionally been one of our days off as a day to host Tanzanians in our home, we are encouraging them in their mode of sabbath, and actually helping them to experience it.

Many suggested in the comments section of the original post that we should set aside a day off and stick to it — by politely explaining the importance of our day of rest.  This is a perfectly acceptable way of dealing with this problem in the U.S., but is not here in Tanzania.  To tell someone “no,” and then explain that I need rest, is to bring something harmful into the relationship.  I realize there are good intentions behind this idea, but I don’t feel it is respectful of the context in which we live.  It would be far better for me to set aside a day, and lie in order to preserve it, saying I have lots of office work to get done.

Because of our American worldview (and our idea that all Christianity is black and white), we struggle a great deal with this.  How could being honest and politely explaining you need rest be worse than lying to someone about what you have to do that day?  The closest cultural equivalent I can think of would be to ask why you would tell your friend she looks fine when it’s quite obvious she gained at least 20 pounds over Christmas break?  Here in Tanzania, they wouldn’t lie about that.  They would congratulate their friend on gaining weight.  They would literally say, “Wow, you look fatter!”  And both people involved would have smiles on their faces.  Now imagine telling that Tanzanian Christian that in the United States he should lie if ever asked a question about another individual having gained weight.  That’s as close as I can get, I think, to why it’s better to do the cultural thing, even if it involves lying.  A relationship is more important than a lie that is culturally acceptable.

Though, to be sure, note that while I think lying is better than merely saying no (even if lovingly), this is still not the route we’ve decided to take.  We believe there is a third culture that exists — and Jesus demonstrated it clearly.

What are your thoughts?  Especially others living in cultures not their own?  How have you successfully dealt with this issue?  And does anyone want to wade with me into a discussion on lying?  [I thought it would get more attention in the original post, but few addressed it on any level at all.]

missionary predicament: hospitality and rest

How important is rest?  Do missionaries and development workers deserve time off?  Who decides when we get to relax?  Is it okay to lie in certain situations… if it’s expected?

[This post is one installment of a somewhat (okay, extremely) irregular feature called Missionary Predicaments.  Occasionally I attempt to explain some recent (or ongoing) dilemma having to do with being a missionary and development worker in Tanzania.  And then I ask what you think the proper Christian missionary response would be.  Then I do whatever you said.  Well… maybe not.  But I do welcome all advice — especially if you’re over 50 years old and have grey hair.]

Situation

You and your wife have worked eight days straight and really need a break.  You want to sit in your house and watch a few episodes of West Wing without making dinner for anyone, chatting with neighbors, or answering questions about job opportunities within your “organization.”  Just as you sit down with homemade tortilla chips and glasses of sent-from-America Crystal Light, there’s a knock at the gate and a loud “hodi,” followed by a continuous and steady string of “hodi”s.*  It’s an acquaintance of yours, a local pastor from a church down the road, and you’re sure he’s come just to sit and chat for a bit (an hourish) on the front porch — which requires that your wife make chai, and neither of you watch West Wing until later or, more likely, another day.  What do you do?

Background and Culture

• Visitors are extremely important in Tanzanian culture.  It is always an honor to have a guest.
• Therefore, it is important to be a good and hospitable host.  A female in the house should at least make tea, and probably provide a snack of some sort, as the men sit and talk together.
• When something is an inconvenience to a Tanzanian, he is expected to lie.  It is extremely rude to tell someone, “no.”  But it’s perfectly acceptable to say, “I have a lot of work to do today,” even if it is untrue — even if the person with whom you’re speaking knows it to be untrue.  Someone asks to borrow your expensive camera or, better yet, asks if they can have it.  If you tell them “no,” you’ve insulted them.  They walk away with a hurt (or broken) relationship, mumbling about how you could have at least spared them the indignity by answering, “Maybe another day,” or “Well, my wife really needs to use it tonight.”

Factors to Consider

• It’s unlikely you and your family will ever have more than 3 or 4 uninterrupted hours in your house.  And it’s nearly impossible to predict (or guess) when those times will be.  People show up at all hours of the day.
• The pastor has already seen you through the windows of your house (as you’ve only lived there a relatively short time and don’t have curtains yet — water and electricity took precedence).  So pretending you’re not home is not an option — not that you would have done that anyway.  Just saying….
• This is starting to become a trend:  planning a time to relax and having it interrupted.
• It’s not that talking with this pastor is extremely difficult or belaboring (it’s getting much easier for you to talk for an uninterrupted hour in Swahili, though your brain is a little tired afterward).  It’s more that you’ve been looking forward to this break — and believe it will actually help you, your ministry to others, and your marriage if you enjoy a little downtime.
• It’s not just an inconvenience to you, though.  Your wife also is expected to serve tea and maybe snacks.  Keep in mind, there are no bags of chips or cookies in your pantry.  And if there are, they either came from the states or were very expensive — and probably wouldn’t taste good to your pastor friend anyway.  That means whipping up some chapatis or thawing out some of your homemade bread to serve with jam and butter.
• Back in the states, you might have just explained to your friend that you and the wife really need some time together, and had planned for that time to be now.  You’ve been busy and need a break.  And your friend would have understood.  Of course he probably also would’ve called before walking the mile-and-a-half to your house.  Okay, he never would have walked to your house.
• This visitor has just walked 1 1/2 miles to your house.
• [Editor's note -- added after initial publishing for clarification] Explaining that you need rest, this is your day off, or you’re wanting to spend time with your family are not acceptable reasons for turning away guests.  Work, sickness, having other guests, or even preparing for other guests would, however, be acceptable.
• You’re trying to live into the culture of Tanzania, and want to provide as few barriers to the gospel as possible.  But you’re just not sure lying is the right thing to do — even though it’s culturally acceptable.
• You realize lying is also at times culturally acceptable in your home culture — even among Christians:
  • “Girlfriend, your hair looks good.  You rock that mohawk!”
  • “Oh, I’m fine, doing just great — and you?”
  • “Your baby is so cute.  [She doesn't look at all like an alien lizard.]“
  • “I can’t tell you’ve gained a pound.”
  • “It’s not you — it’s me.”
  • “I just don’t want to ruin the great friendship we have.”
  • “What dinosaur?  I don’t see a dinosaur.”
• You probably should be thinking about what to do in this specific situation, but also how you will deal with all of this for the next eightish years.  Can you say the same thing you say today every time this happens?  Should you find a different place to relax?  What about when you get even busier with agriculture development and church planting?  What then?

What would you do?  In the short term?  In the long term?  How important is rest?  Time with family?  How do we create and protect these moments?  [I'll share with you in an upcoming post what we've decided to do.]

* Hodi = Swahili word that announces the presence of a visitor at a door or gate.  I’m guessing this practice developed over the knock because of the general lack of doors on which one could knock.  And a single “hodi” will not, under any circumstance, suffice.  The visitor is required to “hodi” constantly until the door is opened or (in some cases) someone from inside answers with “nakuja,” a familiar way of saying, “I’m coming.”  However, one must continue yelling “nakuja” until one has actually opened the door, lest the “hodi”ing begin again.  It seems the general rule is that there can be no time of quiet, however brief, between the arrival of a visitor and the actual opening of the door.  I’ve on several occasions thought about doing the same sort of thing while waiting for my food at a restaurant or while waiting to be helped at the hardware store — constantly repeating my order until I actually have the item in my hand.  It truly is sad that a word announcing a guest (something which is quite an honor in this context) can come to mean about the same thing as nails screeching on a chalkboard.