Within the Adventist world, there is a structured reliability on the Sabbath. Its weekly ritualism was a clock by which to set our weeks and a pattern that for some is a bedrock of belief. Then the pandemic hit. The organized worship we had grown accustomed to our whole lives had to adapt like everything else. Suddenly pastors and church volunteers, like Adrian Webster, pastor at the North New Zealand Conference and Garrison Hayes, a pastor at Community Praise Church in Washington D.C, had to scramble to find new platforms to maintain the church experience. Of course, it's not the same. Sitting in a pew wearing our Sabbath best, surrounded by church family singing hymns in one space cannot be replicated over Zoom. But does that loss really mean the end of the “Sabbath experience”?

Webster shared in the ANN InDepth episode that, for countries like New Zealand, the pandemic was a challenging four week blip, but for many others, self isolation is still required. When new platforms are replacing previous forms of worship, many can become confused, disheartened or outright indignant at the changes that we have had to endure. There are many that resent the online Sabbath services as improper forms of worship. At this point, we have to ask, what is the Sabbath for? This question must be answered for us to reach the core of our identity as believers and how we practice Sabbath rest. 

The Sabbath is, Webster details, “the crowning purpose of creation... in it, we find our purpose, identity, and freedom within our souls”. The Sabbath was an invitation to rest before Adam and Eve even began their work. That invitation is still being extended as a monument to God’s covenant with us, and the promise that He is ever faithful. Sabbath is more beautiful and rich than a “day off” but is something to extend to those around us. As said by Hayes, “we are called to be Sabbath givers.” Because the Sabbath acts as a blessing to not just Adventists, but all of humanity, it is our responsibility as believers to share the gift that offers life and restoration.

In the comfort of our traditional church structures, Sabbath is a day off where we dress our best, go to a building and attend a service. It is possible that we have allowed ourselves to view Sabbath or Church as a service to fit our own agenda or comfort, and not a practice to live out and give freely. Seeing our pastor through Zoom may be different and disheartening, but we must not allow “different” to be confused with “wrong”. Because church services are not held the way it's been done in the past does not discredit its blessing. For those who have had to remain in lockdown longer than a few weeks, an opportunity has been provided to truly consider the purpose of the Sabbath and get creative. As long as the activity upholds the purpose of the Sabbath, the list of options for worship grows exponentially. 

We can go to parks or beaches with our family, cook sabbath lunch with friends over Zoom, paint, sing a hymn, or simply relax in God’s word. Without the rush of activities and events, we are allowed to ease into the Sabbath and fully savor its gifts without pressure.When the purpose of the Sabbath is clear, the need to abide by a set of rules concerning what Sabbath “should be” fall away, leaving us with endless opportunities to connect and celebrate with God and loved ones.

There have not been many silver linings to the pandemic, but one has been the encouragement for God's people to be the church, rather than go to church. While resting in the opportunity to experience the Sabbath in all its fullness, we are able to practice it without the clutter of church activities that might have prevented us from living in absolute communion with God and others. Webster clarifies the Sabbath as something that “is not the absence of activity, it is the relational connectivity that breathes life”. Bible studies, pathfinders, and other after church activities while all good, can easily overshadow the Sabbath’s true purpose. In this period of redirection we are allowed to take stock and reprioritize. In the hassle of activity we can forget to connect to God and those around us. While face to face connection may not be available for some, there are still ways to foster community. Just as the roads of ancient Rome had to be built to aid the spreading of the gospel, so technology has advanced to allow deeper connection to those far from us. Therefore, accept God's invitation of the sabbath, with all its complexity and rest.