Jostin Samuel Diaz Mendoza

Capstone Seminar in Christian Life

3 November 2018
Dr. Rod Reed
Learning How to Sabbath
I think that the first time I heard about Sabbath or the concept of devoting a
complete day for God, was during my middle school years, before I became a Christian. I
heard my professor of Morality and Religion talk about the seventh day Adventists in a
way that pictured them as a religious cult that was not really Christian. I think that because
the concept of Sabbath, at least in my country, looks like belongs only to the seventh day
Adventist, other denominations of Christianity do not practice, talk, or study a whole lot
about it. So, When I became a Christian, practicing the Sabbath was not something people
would talk about. Actually, as I reflect on my home church’s theology, the lack of talking
about rest and sabbatical practices could be a factor that led so many of the leaders to leave
the church because they were too exhausted. Therefore, I said to myself, that even though
Sabbath is such a foreign concept to me, I needed to try it.
So, based on the what I read from Marva Dawn’s book, Keeping the Sabbath
Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting, I choose to have three basic components
of how I would do Sabbath. My Sabbath was based on having an intentional time learning
about God, whether that was reading the bible or a book by a Christian author, a time to not
be productive or anxious, and a time of enjoyment with friends. I choose these three
components as a result of three concepts presented by Dawn in her book. One of them is
the concept of spiritual rest and how the Jews used the seventh day to study the Torah and
learn about God. Another one was the concept of ceasing work and productivity and its
connection with the requirements of the assignment. And the last one was the concept of
feasting with affection. This concept caught my attention because how it connects with my
spiritual life being highly influenced by the way others show me a new aspect of who God
is. My Sabbath was from Friday at noon to Saturday at noon.
My first Sabbath was on Fall break. One would think that a school break would be
the perfect time to start sabbatical practices, but for me it was not. I went on the Chicago
immersion trip sponsored by JBU and I was one of the drivers. So, for the first 4 hours of
my slotted sabbath time I was driving and talking to other people, which was good, but
because I was driving it was not restful. For the rest of the trip though, I got to read a book
called Siervos Para Su Gloria by Miguel Nuñez, a renown Christian Autor in Central
America. This book talks about the signs of immaturity in a Christian and help me spots
some of those signs in myself. I alternated reading with taking naps in the van but still, 12
hours on the road are really exhausting. So even though I got to spend some time learning
about God, and some time having and laughing with the people in the van, it was not restful
at all. Then I went to bed, woke up at nine in the morning and started the day with
introductions to the trip. Therefore, in my perception I did not do Sabbath well because I
cease homework, but I still was productive in a way that was not part of my Sabbath
components.
For my Second Sabbath, what I did was just spend the afternoon reading Siervos
Para Su Gloria and I finished it. Then I took a nap and went to have pupusas with some
friends and watch The Good Place together. After that we just talked and had fun dancing
ridiculously and trying to do Zumba. I went to bed around midnight. Then, I woke up
around 10 and got ready for the silent retreat and walked to First Presbyterian. It took me
around 25 minutes to walk there and it was a good time for a prayer walk. During the silent
retreat I read Isaiah 2 and Romans 6-8, and just took some time to enjoy the weather and I
finish my Sabbath with that. This time my Sabbath included the three components I wanted
so This time I felt like I was doing it well.
For my third Sabbath, I did Yoga in the afternoon and did some dancing, which
even though I was tired at the end, dancing is always a release for me. Then I did some
bible reading on Romans and Isaiah and went to dinner. After that I met to talk with some
Walton Students and just chill and speak Spanish a little, then I play volleyball with some
of them, and went to talk to Emily Callon and Mangie about life. For some reason every
time the three of us get together we start talking about diversity and inclusion. I love it.
They are a safe space for me to talk about Race, Gender, Politics, and LGBT topics
relevant to JBU. I am still trying to figure out if engaging in that conversation was
sabbatical or not. For me it was, but at the same time I felt it was productive, which kinds
of takes out a component of my Sabbath during that time. Then I went to bed and slept in
until eleven in the morning, and did some journaling and bible reading to finish my
Sabbath.
Now as I reflect on how I did Sabbath for the past three weeks, I realized that I still
do not know how to rest. However, I felt that those times were restful. I was intentional
about taking time out of my week to cease, to feast, and to enjoy the gift of the
relationships I have at this university. I feel like being able to take an intentional time to
cease, rest, and enjoy was good for caring for my soul, but I did not necessarily saw God in
a new way. I did learn things about me, and my spiritual life, like places in which I am still
immature, my own brokenness and the power of redemption, and the role of God’s people
in justice, but not about who God is. In the way Marva Dawn talks about on Section of
Ceasing to ty to be God, and Spiritual Rest, it made me expectant of getting to see God in a
new, different, and more tangible way, but for me it was not the case. One factor that could
have affected that experience be that I was not 100% without using my phone to text and
receive calls. I still use my phone to talk to people back in Panama, even though I could
have talk to them on Sunday.
All in all, doing the Sabbath has been one of the healthiest experiences for me.
Since being at John Brown, I have never taken time to just slow down, and cease because
I’ve always been overwhelmed by the number of things I need to get done. However, this
practice showed me that I need rest. I function better and feel better when I take some time
in my week to cease and rest. At the same time, it challenged me to recognize that my
busyness was an excuse I use to not sort out my own feelings. Therefore, I would consider
doing the sabbath in a regular basis. I can see how good this have been for my soul and
emotional state while knowing that I still have space to learn how to do it better. Now it
makes more sense in my mind why keeping the Sabbath is a commandment.