Answering God's Call to Peace

Twenty-seven years ago, a friend asked me to do something. I can’t remember the request, but I remember my response. “Just let me get through Easter.”

I clearly should have been more specific—like, “which Easter.” Easter 2035, perhaps?

We live in a society that operates at a frantic pace. One that rewards productivity above almost anything else. It’s easy to see why phrases like “burning the candle at both ends” and “burned out” have become commonplace. 

In her book, Sacred Rest, Saundra Dalton-Smith described this very experience in her life. In a moment of extreme exhaustion, she found herself on her back on the floor. When her husband asked what she was doing, her answer was, “burning.” She described her productivity-induced fatigue as feeling like kindling being fully consumed by a fire.

Friends, this is not the life God has called us to. This is not the life that God models. This is not the rhythm that God created…in the beginning. Part of God’s created order is a rhythm of rest—of Sabbath.

I’m pretty sure God has been trying to get my attention about my over-functioning, my ruthless productivity, and the high expectations that I place on others—wanting them to operate at my frenetic pace—for years. It pains me to confess that I may have been “too busy” to listen to God’s pleas.

So, God decided to get my attention in language I apparently understand—by giving me an assignment. One with a very short deadline. 

I was invited, “out of the blue,” to write a 10-week Bible study on the topic of Sabbath. I’ve never done anything like that before, and it’s clear I was not an expert on the practice of Sabbath (!), so this was a full-immersion project. One that completely transformed my life. 

As I researched, two quotes really convicted me. The first was by author Wayne Muller, who wrote that what modern society would consider a successful life is actually a violent enterprise. We make war on our bodies, our children, our spirit, our communities, and the earth by our unwillingness to make time for gentle tending to them.

Ouch!

In his book, Conjecture of a Guilty Bystander, theologian Thomas Merton agreed, writing: “There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. 

“To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace.”

Sabbath is not simply a form of self-care, although it certainly provides that benefit. It is the practice of abiding—of strengthening relationships with God and with others through time spent together. 

Through writing this study, and through “practicing what I preach,” I have learned that Sabbath is not something to partake of once all the items on my to-do list are checked. Sabbath IS an item. It provides a daily rhythm to my life. It is a regular act of peacemaking. It is God-breathed, and it is God-blessed. It is an invitation to you!

Rev. Angela Finet

Pastor, Mountville Church of the Brethren, PA

Clergy Representative, Church of the Brethren Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee

Flutist, Twin Rose Community Band

Author, Brethren Press

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