the New Pantagruel

The Idea of a Sabbath Economy: A Theological Framework for Economists

by Norman Wirzba

he idea of a Sabbath economy will sound strange to many of us, particularly if we remember that Sabbath observance, from ancient Jewish practice to contemporary blue laws, usually entails some degree of work stoppage. If economy is the sphere of work and production, and Sabbath is our “resting” from labor, then it would appear that these two have little to do with one another. Indeed, Sabbath economy might be perceived as the interruption of economy, or, more drastically, its dissimulation for the sake of indolent inactivity.

But what if Sabbath teaching held the key that unlocked for us what all economic life is about, not only what it is ultimately for, but also how economic practice should proceed? Clearly, if we are to think this way we need to move beyond all notions of Sabbath as simply the cessation of work. We need to understand that Sabbath teaching, while it certainly entails the invitation to rest and cease from our striving, is finally about providing a comprehensive context in which work and play, production and consumption, find their true bearing. The Sabbath, in other words, is the prism through which all of life’s activities are to be viewed, understood, evaluated, and redirected.

This is a lot to pin on a teaching that increasingly seems out of step with the times. But there is powerful theological precedent for this view. Consider the claim of Jürgen Moltmann that “the whole work of creation was performed for the sake of the Sabbath,” or the pronouncement of Abraham Joshua Heschel that “The world would not be complete if the six days did not culminate in the Sabbath.”¹ The logic behind statements like this is clear: the Sabbath is not simply an add-on to God’s creative work, a bonus, perhaps, for our wearisome, worrisome toil. It is rather the heart of creation’s movement, its inner meaning, and the vital power within creation making life good and a delight to God. On this view, if there were no Sabbath, the creation as a whole would be compromised, bereft of its full potential and purpose. Sabbath observance completes creation because in it we reflect the divine intention at work in creation. We offer to God our work and our leisure so they might match up with God’s own creative work and rest.

Sabbath observance, in other words, is misunderstood if we equate it with inactivity. We do better if we reformulate it as the intentionality that leads us into the happiness, delight, and stillness of God. To be sure, this intentionality will require of us that we regularly cease from our frenetic striving, especially because it is precisely our striving that often gets in the way of our appreciating and enjoying God’s creative work. We need to step back from our frantic pacing so as to recover a divine perspective on it. We will then see that there is no reason why our day-to-day living, as when we eat, teach our children, make bank withdrawals, design a built environment, etc., should not be permeated with a Sabbath focus.

And what is the Creator’s intention and purpose in creating life? If the Priestly account in Genesis 1 and 2 is to be believed, it is to enjoy, even delight in, the goodness of a creation well made. The purpose and goal of all that we do is to participate in the life-giving spirit of God, and find in that participation our supreme happiness and joy. It is to enter into the rest of God, and from that perspective engage the creation of which we are a part.² As we approximate this divine rest and delight, we catch a glimpse of heaven, for as the rabbis once said, “If we ever properly observe the Sabbath, the Messiah will come.”

All Pages | 1 |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5