Living
the Sabbath
By Norman Wirzba
Retail: $19.99
Brazos
Press
175 pages
Description:
Our traditional understanding of Sabbath observance is
resting from our otherwise harried lives one day a week. But in
Living the Sabbath, Norman Wirzba leads us deeper into the
heart of Sabbath with a holistic and rewarding interpretation of
what true Sabbath-keeping can mean in our lives today. Wirzba
teaches that Sabbath is ultimately about delight in the goodness
that God has made--in everything we do, every day of the week. He
then shows how this understanding of Sabbath teaching has the
potential to elevate all our activities so that they bring honor
to God and delight to the world. With practical examples, Wirzba
unpacks what that means for our work, our homes, our economy, our
schools, our treatment of creation, and our churches. In doing so,
he examines everything from the way chickens are treated in our
food industry to the value of family mealtime.
In the end, you will be equipped with a deeper theological
understanding of Sabbath, as well as down-to-earth ways to live it
out in your daily life. This book will appeal to clergy and
laypeople alike who are seeking ways to discover the
transformative power of Sabbath.
From the foreword:
The requirement of Sabbath observance invites us to stop. It
invites us to rest. It asks us to notice that while we rest the world
continues without our help. It invites us to find delight in the world's
beauty and abundance. (Thank God for cheap recreation!) Now, in our
pandemonium, it may be asking us also to consider that if we choose not
to honor it and care well for it, the world will continue in our
absence.
The life of this world is by no means simple or comprehensible
to us humans. It involves darkness and suffering; it confronts us daily
with mystery and our ignorance. But the idea of the Sabbath passes
through it as a vein of light, reminding us of the inherent sanctity of
the world and our life, and of the transformative sanity of admiration,
gratitude, and care. Norman Wirzba's book asks what kind of human life
it takes to include the Sabbath. It is high time somebody asked. As this
book shows, what is implied is a set of answers dangerous to ignore.
--Wendell Berry
Author Information: Norman Wirzba (Ph.D., Loyola
University, Chicago) is professor of philosophy and chair of the
department at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. He is the
author of The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological
Age.
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This book gives you a different take on celebrating
the Sabbath. Instead of viewing the Sabbath as an individual
retreat, Norman Wirzba explores what it means to live out the
Sabbath in our families and communities. The author draws on
traditional and contemporary sources as he shows how Sabbath
principles apply to a variety of subjects, from farming to
education, to recreation, to worship.
Another interesting aspect of this book is the way that
Wirzba looks at contemporary life and explains why the most affluent
nation on earth harbors so many discontented and unsatisfied people.
It's not the easiest book to read, but it was worth the
time it took me to get through it.
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