New Creation: Present Rest

"So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work that they had done." Genesis 2:3

This rest is the Hebrew word Shabbat, from which we get the word Sabbath - a concept that remains central to Jewish faith and practice. In the Genesis creation account, God has just brought order and life out of chaotic darkness. God sees that creation is whole and complete, says that it is very good, and God’s Spirit fills the cosmos with the divine presence. The rest of the seventh day is a day with no end in which humanity is forever invited to enter into the same rest - good, whole, and complete.

The work was done, if only we could have accepted that it was all holy and good. Instead, humanity creates disorder and suffering by deciding that parts of creation are not good. As exiles from Eden, humanity must learn to restore order and life to the chaos we have created. But even as we work and learn to see the world as good and holy again, we are continually invited back into the Sabbath rest - to find rest in the present presence of the divine.

This rest reminds us that our value does not depend on our work or production, because we are made in God's image. This rest reminds us to be present, without regret or longing for yesterday, and without fear or expectation for tomorrow. This rest reminds us that the work doesn't depend solely on us, and that life is emerging all around us if we will simply let it be. This rest reminds us to be still in order to see the good and holy within ourselves and others. This rest allows us to see abundance instead of scarcity and in doing so we hold the fruit of our labor with an open hand.

So work to bring goodness and beauty into the world, but know that you are simply jumping into the flow of goodness that has already been set in motion. This river will carry you, so you need not fight the current. Swim if you wish, but at any time you can simply float, rest, and be carried along in this present moment.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

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