Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight (The Christian Practice of Everyday Life) [Paperback]

Norman Wirzba (Author), Wendell Berry (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: The Christian Practice of Everyday Life | Publication Date: December 1, 2006

Sabbath is one day a week when we should rest from our otherwise harried lives, right? In Living the Sabbath, Norman Wirzba leads us to a much more holistic and rewarding understanding of Sabbath-keeping. Wirzba shows how Sabbath is ultimately about delight in the goodness that God has made--in everything we do, every day of the week. With practical examples, Wirzba unpacks what that means for our daily lives at work, in our homes, in our economies, in school, in our treatment of creation, and in church. This book will appeal to clergy and laypeople alike and to all who are seeking ways to discover the transformative power of Sabbath in their lives today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Mention Sabbath and most people envision a day of rest or possibly attendance at a worship service. But for Wirzba, chair of the philosophy department at Georgetown College in Kentucky, Sabbath is a way of life untangled from a consumer-dominated economy in order to slow down and appreciate life: "Put simply, Sabbath discipline introduces us to God's own ways of joy and delight." Using the lens of the Jewish Sabbath practice, Wirzba looks at contemporary life and explains why the most affluent nation on earth harbors so many discontented and unsatisfied people. What if education focused more on holy desire and delight than credentialing? How might our lives change if we took the time to grow, harvest and prepare our own food? In his chapter on Sabbath economy, he calls for the equitable distribution of resources as a top goal—an idea basic to the Hebrew Bible's understanding of Sabbath, but marginal to North American culture, even church culture. Far from merely urging readers to observe Sabbath once a week, this book will humble, fascinate, but most of all challenge spiritual seekers to pursue the fullness of Sabbath. (Dec.)
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From the Back Cover

Living the Sabbath is part of The Christian Practice of Everyday Life series, dedicated to theological consideration of the concerns of everyday life. Series editors are David S. Cunningham and William T. Cavanaugh.

"'Sabbath time' is a concept popular among overworked clergy, but Wirzba penetrates to the core of Sabbath teaching as an indispensable element of biblical thought that must inform Christian practice altogether. Drawing widely on traditional and contemporary sources, he shows how Sabbath principles apply to subjects as apparently diverse as farming and eating, education, recreation, economics, and worship. At last the church has a beautifully written, deeply informed study of Sabbath living that is worthy of a place alongside Abraham Heschel's great work."--Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School

"Living the Sabbath is a cup of cold water for thirsty souls--a cup of rest and delight offered to those of us exhausted and burdened by the frenetic pace of even our 'Christian' busy-ness. Far from the 'working-for-the-weekend' escapism of our consumer society, Wirzba shows how Sabbath-keeping is just as much a Wednesday and Thursday way of inhabiting God's good creation. He bids us to another world and another way of life by painting a picture of how it could be otherwise, providing not formulae and rules but examples and vignettes that invite us to imagine our habits differently. As a beginning to living the Sabbath, make time to read this book!"--James K.A. Smith, Calvin College

"In our hot-and-now commodity culture, in which even religion is often seen as just another thing to be consumed, Living the Sabbath is a clarion call to retrieve the wisdom of the biblical understanding of Sabbath. Clearly and engagingly written, free of scholarly clutter, and brim full of much practical insight on how to live with joy and delight, Norman Wirzba's book is a welcome and timely addition to the Christian Practice of Everyday Life series. This book deserves a wide readership."--Steven Bouma-Prediger, Hope College

"Norman Wirzba's Living the Sabbath takes us beyond the usual depictions of Sabbath as individual retreat into the practices of Sabbath that engage the fullness of our lives. He explores what it means to live out of a sense of Sabbath in family and community relationships, work and social commitments, and in the theological expressions of 'delight in the goodness of God.' Here is a text for living simply and in the continuing transformation of our lives by God's grace."--Malcolm Lyle Warford, Lexington Theological Seminary

"This book reads so well that you're tempted to speed through it. But don't. Enjoy it with a glass of iced tea, sit in your rocking chair on the porch and savor it, read slowly, let it sink in. Turn off the television, stay away from the mall, have a conversation with your neighbors, eat home-grown tomatoes. Practice it while you read it. Learn to do Sabbath. Take delight."--Kyle Childress, pastor of Austin Heights Baptist Church, Nacogdoches, Texas

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Brazos Press; annotated edition edition (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587431653
• ISBN-13: 978-1587431654
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We need practices that can lift us out of our narrowness and alienation, June 6, 2007

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight (The Christian Practice of Everyday Life) (Paperback)

For most of us, if we are at all concerned with "keeping Sabbath," it is because of and in terms of the Commandment given to Moses: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." We set aside one day out of seven to worship and rest. But in LIVING THE SABBATH, Dr. Norman Wirzba digs deeper into the meaning and intent of the biblical concept of Sabbath as introduced in the Genesis creation account.

In an early chapter titled "The Meaning of the Sabbath, Wirzba introduces the Hebrew word menuha, "the rest, tranquility, serenity, and peace of God." (Think of the deep peace of shalom.) "Menuha, not humanity, completes creation. God's rest or shabbat...is not simply a cessation from activity but rather the lifting up and celebration of everything." In that context, Sabbath, "the climax of creation, is thus the goal toward which all our living should move." It is more than a one-day interlude. It is an attitude "suffusing every moment with the potential for peace and joy." It is delighting in the gifts of God. "The experience of delight is what the Sabbath is all about." It is seeing and valuing the sanctity of all creation --- this in opposition to exploiting our land, our food supply, our energy sources, our time, our fellow travelers. Wendell Berry, who wrote the book's foreword, plays heavily in Wirzba's scenario, as does Abraham Joshua Heschel.

A warning: Part 1 of the book ("Setting a Sabbath Context") is theoretical and theological. It defines terms ("The Meaning of the Sabbath"; "The Practice of Delight"). It explains our errant ways ("The Decline of Delight"). An introductory chapter titled "Losing Our Way" goes into some detail of what is wrong with the "current state of food production." It addresses the problem of evil ("Pain and Suffering"). These initial chapters may be boring if not mind-numbing to the average or recreational reader.

Having said that, Part 1 lays the ground work for Part 2 ("The Sabbath in Practical Context"), which is engaging and practical --- much easier to read. Though there is still snow on the ground, it makes me eager to go out and plant radish and spinach seeds in my tiny border garden. It makes me resolve to buy locally grown seasonal vegetables at the nearby farmer's market even if they are no bargain. It reminds me of the delight --- even if tinged with frustration --- of working alongside other church members on a group project. It makes a case for the "family meal" and family meal preparation --- moments and rituals that engender relationships and community.

Some of Wirzba's suggestions or conclusions may seem unrealistic, pushing toward utopian, but his book challenges me and makes me feel hopeful, seeing that even small changes in my life can paradoxically both cause and be the result of my delighting in God and in God's creation and Christ's redemption. Wirzba concludes: "In a time of consumerist individualism, often empty of generosity and deep delight, we need practices that can lift us out of our narrowness and alienation." Amen, brother.

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful Contribution, Important Topic, March 19, 2009

By 

Matthew Dickerson (Bristol, Vermont) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight (The Christian Practice of Everyday Life) (Paperback)

I have enjoyed, and learned from, several of Wirzba's essays dealing with agrarian philosophy, and I also found to be very helpful and challenging his previous book The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age , so I have been looking forward to reading this new one. I haven't been disappointed. It is both insightful and challenging. The sort of book that should be read carefully by anybody who cares and is willing to think about what it could mean to live a life that is nourished by "rhythms of rest and delight".

4.0 out of 5 stars Challenging a life Devoid of Rest, January 8, 2011

By 

Dan Muthui - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight (The Christian Practice of Everyday Life) (Paperback)

Wirzba confronts today's culture (of work, food production, economic structures etc) describing it as devoid of rest and delight. He attempts to lift the meaning of Sabbath off the one day at the end of the week when human beings withdraw from activities in order to "rest"- if indeed they do, and defines it as a lifestyle of delight that can be attained when we withdraw to redefine our lifestyles and its effects not only on our state of being but also the environment. While his proposals are timely and indeed worthy of consideration, and while he has taken a great deal of space to articulate the issues and what needs to be done for Sabbath to be experienced, he does not suggest how. This leaves room for criticism and claim that his options are abstract, irrelevant and unfeasible in today's world. However I think, the issues he raises should challenge today's ways of life, especially in the developed world.