From the beginning the Judeo-Christian sacred text speaks of rest. The Creator rests on the seventh day. There is a call throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament for all of creation to work…and to rest. The Holy Qur’an calls pilgrims to take time away to pray. In Hinduism there is a call to seek the Infinite via a path, or yoga. In Buddhism, the call is to “wake up” as one seeks the sacred within. Truth be told, most sacred texts speak of time away to seek the Sacred Divine.
In the Christian sacred text the fourth evangelist offers the word abide and the need to abide. The seventh verse in the Amplified Bible translations offers this word, “abide vitally united to Me.” The word abide has many definitions, but my favorite has been [of course this is the ksb definition, get it? ksb?] “imprinted with the Sacred Divine.”
So, how does this occur? It occurs with time spent with the Sacred Divine. There are no short cuts. No magic formulas. Intentional time is required for one to abide. But here’s the thing, if the religions in which we express our faith call us to take time away to seek the Sacred, how do we add that to our schedules? How do we as a college community intentionally insert times of rest [I love the Judeo-Christian word here, Sabbath.] into our already full calendars?
I’d like to offer five practical ways:
1) Rise every morning thankful. Thank the Sacred Divine for the gift of life. Commit to open eyes and ears…and hearts for the day’s adventure.
2) Every few hours take time to breathe. Whether it is between classes, on the way down the hall or on a trek across campus….breathe deep….full….healing breaths. As you exhale imagine all the negative being released from your body.
3) Allot extra time to get to your next commitment. Leisurely stroll to class, or wherever you are headed. Focus not on what is next, but what is in right front of you. What might the Sacred be saying in this very moment, in this very place?
4) Take 10 minutes every day and one day a week to just BE. Plan all your energizing, creative activities for that day. Protect that day. Breathe a lot on that day.
5) Look into opportunities for monthly, yearly and seasonal seasons of rest.
Simply put, we work out of our rest. If we do not take time away to rest, not only does our communion with the Sacred Divine suffer, our body deteriorates. We lack strength. We become petri dishes for viruses and bacteria because our immune system has not been cared for. Rest is necessary, and perhaps that is one of the prime reasons the sacred texts of so many religions command it.
I invite you to abide…I invite you to just BE…I invite you to breathe….I invite you to rest. And may the seasons of rest empower you, anoint you, convict you, challenge you and call you to a deeper communion with the Sacred Other, the One who in the beginning instituted rest as a requirement for creation.
Come, let us BE together,
Katrina Stipe Brooks, campus pastor for [lcf]