Abstract
In an age where rest from constant activity seems impossible, given our attachment and dependence on digital devices, Mark Scarlata offers some reflections on the spiritual discipline of Sabbath observance to rediscover the beauty of rest and offers ‘a compelling case for why the Sabbath remains critical to the life and witness of God’s people today’ (p. x). Beginning with the Augustinian principle of our human longing for rest in God, Scarlata believes God instituted the Sabbath as a day of rest to facilitate the fulfillment of this human desire. Following a brief study of the biblical meaning of Sabbath rest in the Old Testament, and its possible meaning in Second Temple Judaism and in relationship to Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament, Scarlata asks ‘how does the command for Sabbath rest relate to the new community in Christ’ and whether Christians ought to follow the command for rest as well (p. 13). He presents a very good historical survey of the question of the change from Sabbath observance in the early Jewish Christian community to Sunday observance in later Gentile communities. Although brief, this survey covers the essential points of this change and is mindful of the diverse forms of Second Temple Judaism portrayed in the New Testament. Readers get a sense that biblical authors were not averse to all forms of Judaism. The concept of Sabbath, therefore, should not be de facto rejected as is often presented in some replacement theologies. While the concept of Sabbath is fulfilled in the life of Jesus, it nonetheless remains spiritually meaningful and reveals God’s rest, healing and wholeness ‘now made available to all who receive it’ (p. 25).
Scarlata advocates for a return to the discipline of Sabbath observance (a 24-hour period of rest each week) on the basis of four meaningful attributes of the beauty of the Sabbath. In these chapters, he mirrors positively the many contributions of other authors on a theology of Sabbath (Brueggemann, Tonstad, Bacchiocchi). Sabbath is first a reminder of God’s good creation (Gen. 2:1-3) and that God’s rest is an invitation for humankind to also rest from work and busyness. Sabbath is a solution to restlessness by creating holy time for peace (pp. 36-60). Sabbath-keeping is also a reminder of God’s salvation and liberation from slavery, first for the ancient Israelites and still today for all humankind, ‘as an act of defiance and resistance to the frenetic pace and consumption of the modern world’ (p. 72). Thirdly, the community aspects of God’s grace in the story of the miracle of the manna (Exod. 16) reminds us that the Sabbath is a continual invitation to trust in God’s gift of food with our families, friends and strangers (p. 96). Lastly, the many allusions to Sabbath in the Old Testament prophets point to the culmination of history in the wholeness and restoration of all creation (p. 120). Sabbath is thus one of God’s great gifts, at once ignored, unknown or forgotten, to a restless humanity in need of grace and peace.