“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God;
for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labours as God did from his.”
Hebrews 4:9-10
In my short career as an academic, I have felt Hebrews 4:9-10 applies to every other profession, but mine. At this rate, I know I will be burnt out by the seventh year requiring a Sabbatical to recover.
After completing His creation, God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation (Genesis 2:3). So firstly, Sabbath was meant for physical and mental rest. This was one of the main days the Jewish people met in the Synagogue for scripture reading and prayer. Secondly, in Exodus God gives the Sabbath as a sign between God and the people of Israel. For six days we go about doing our work and on the seventh day, we take a rest. As academics our work originate in the mind; our minds need the space for creative thinking before we can carry out our teaching or research activities. This could even mean that we engage in tasks that are not mentally-intensive in order to give space for our sub consciousness to do what it does best – work without our conscious involvement. Not allocating the capacity or space for creative thinking will result in negative consequences such as not having new ideas or even being demotivated to continue to work.
Even during the ploughing and harvest seasons, this was the command from God (Exodus 34:21). Why would God specify a Sabbath during the ploughing and harvest seasons? Should we not take every opportunity to plough when the weather is good and when harvest is ready, to gather? So God commanding the Israelites to take a day off during the ploughing and harvest seasons seems rather poor farming advice. Unless, of course, God’s methods were different. He wanted the Israelites to depend on Him for their livelihood and not in their ability to sow and reap. By this logic, God commands them to rest, to show that He Himself will provide for them. So thirdly, the Sabbath rest showed that they depend on God and trust Him to come through on His promises.
Fourthly, this was not a law to keep only while they were in Israel, but wherever they live, they were to keep the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3). Israelites cry out to God in their captivity as they are not only unable to worship God, but also unable to keep the Sabbath while being in captivity. The Sabbath was not only intended for the rich and powerful in society but also for the male servant, female servant, hired servant, temporary resident and animals. Academia can be an isolating profession at times; we lecture our students and go back in to our secret lairs (sometimes physically and most times mentally) where we proceed to do what we do best by ourselves. While our work depends on others, seldom do we work with others. Therefore it is easy to think that our reluctance to take a Sabbath would ever rob someone else of theirs. Perhaps our workaholic lifestyle is a way of indicating that we are avoiding reality altogether and have become unbearable to our colleagues who depend on our work.
Sabbath was also meant for the land. As such, the seventh year there was no ploughing or reaping. The land itself got a rest. Finally, Sabbath also stood for economic justice. The Sabbath law ensured that no person would get rich at the expense of another. So every fiftieth year (7×7+1) was declared a year of Jubilee where all debts were cancelled and slaves would be set free.
In the New Testament, Jesus says He is Lord of the Sabbath. At the time of Jesus, the Sabbath rules were held in high esteem – at least, the ones they thought were important. After the resurrection, the Church celebrated the Lord’s Day as the first day of the week, while the Jewish community continues celebrating the Sabbath on the seventh day. Most of us do take time off on Sunday, to worship God in community. However, does our Sabbath rest end there? How do we follow the above principles of the Sabbath in our lives as academics?
One of the perks of academia world over is the Sabbatical one gets for completion of seven academic years. While this may seem like a Biblical concept, it is guarded as our hard earned right in most places. The Sabbatical is given for us to take a break from our academic activities for rest, travel or to do research. In Sri Lanka, this is often where one gets the necessary publications or administrative activities that are needed for promotion. Hence rather than recuperating from academic activities, the Sabbatical becomes a necessity to get to the next level of one’s career. Some out of necessity may even have to continue teaching unofficially as their subjects are highly specialized and cannot be filled by others.
Let me try to take some examples for each of the above points and perhaps you too may agree with me that the Sabbath applies to every profession, but ours. Here I list some questions for reflection to help us keep the Sabbath.
- Sabbath is for physical rest and reflection
Most academics do get weekends off, but in cases of junior faculty in Sri Lanka, this is when the industry visiting lectures are scheduled. If you are a junior lecturer, chances are that you are required to work at least one of the days during the weekend. For others, it may be a stack of answer scripts to grade.
Are you able to make a conscious decision to set apart regular time for rest and reflection? Are you able to participate in communal worship once a week? How has COVID-19 and working from home contributed towards these?
- Sabbath is a sign between God and His people
As Christians, we should always lead by example; Israelites were meant to be God’s show case to draw the nations to Himself.
How can we as Christians, be disciplined in taking time off and considering it sacred, holy, set apart for God and through this be a witness in our respective universities?
- Sabbath shows our dependence on God and trust in Him
Academic freedom is the freedom to teach, study, and pursue knowledge and research without unreasonable interference or restriction from law, institutional regulations, or public pressure.[1] Academic freedom lies not in the comfort or convenience of teachers but in the benefits to society. However, as lecturers (myself included), “academic freedom” is something we often use for our own benefit, including taking rest on days we should be working. This results in blurring of the boundaries where the danger is that we now have to do our regular work during our Sabbath days.
What are the consequences (good and bad) of having a disciplined day/ time off? What does our reluctant to implement this say about whom/ what we depend on?
- Wherever we live we are to keep the Sabbath
Have you or anyone you know got into trouble for refusing to work when it was clearly assigned to you on a Sunday? Or penalized for not replying emails outside of office hours?
- Sabbath applies to everyone regardless of status or position
Do our students get a Sabbath? Do the way we assign homework and assignments reflect that we are serious about students taking a Sabbath?
- Sabbath is also for the non-human creation
How does this apply to academia? What are the aspects of non-human creation in academia that could take a Sabbath rest?
- Sabbath ensures economic justice
Daily, I have students who are requiring to meet me for various activities and advice. Students also have the tendency like any of us to approach those that are known to care about the students or those who can get things done. Therefore by caring about students more or speaking on behalf of students we add to our work load.
Some things that senior staff are able to do, many junior staff are unable to do: for example, not replying emails outside of office hours. There are unsaid rules of what is expected of a junior staff vs senior staff.
How am I contributing to injustice in academia by refusing to take a Sabbath? How can taking a Sabbath contribute towards justice?
[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/academic-freedom
The views expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of FOCUS, Sri Lanka.