Leisure

Pastor’s Epistle—May, A.D. 2014 A

Beyond the Whale-Road

When it comes to reading, I’ll admit to having some very odd tastes. My favorite novel is probably Moby-Dick. I just have an inordinate fondness for that particular ship chasing that particular whale. I also have a minor obsession with epic poems, especially Beowulf. It’s got Vikings, monsters, Old English, dragons, grumpy old men in armor, and a society converting from paganism to Christianity. What’s not to love?

Imagine my rather nerdy excitement when, a year or so ago, some brainy literature fans produced an artfully crafted card game based on Moby-Dick. It’s truly a thing to behold, even if my children are a bit young for me to break out such a brooding and philosophical game. (If you’d like to give it a try, stop by the Mills library. I got the company to donate a copy.) My joys redoubled yesterday, when the same game makers announced their latest project: a Beowulf board game set in “an era when men were men and monsters were monsters—and so were their mothers.” Be still my nerdy heart. In an age when every movie has a video game based upon it, it’s nice to see the classics getting some love of their own.

What is the purpose of such things—cards and novels, poetry and games? Why, leisure, of course. Few things are more important to civilization or to the soul than true leisure, which has little to do with laziness and everything to do with recreation and Sabbath rest. From the very beginning of Holy Scripture, time for leisure is an integral part of the created order. Adam and Eve have a job to do; they are gardeners, farmers, stewards of Creation. But their labors are punctuated with Sabbath rest that they might spend in communion with God. Human life isn’t about being lazy, and it isn’t about being busy. It’s about working in faith, serving in faith, loving in faith, and resting in faith. Real leisure is an essential element of true humanity. It’s no coincidence that great civilizations only arise from peoples who develop a leisured class.

We are a bit of an odd generation, in that while we have more hours available for leisure than our predecessors, we feel as though we have far less. We are more stressed, more frenzied than our forebears. We are distracted by screens, by the constant switching of roles, by too many activities, too many commitments, and too much multitasking. That’s not leisure. That’s barely even living. We must take time to focus on simpler and purer things: time with family, home cooked food, the beauties of nature, the wonders of a good book. And we must remember that God is with us in such things, as surely as He is with us in our labors. God designed us for leisure and is pleased when we offer such “re-creation” up to Him.

So catch a fish. Grill a burger. Walk your dog. Ask the local librarian about that Moby-Dick card game. And, yes, worship, both at home and before the altar. Jesus Christ doesn’t take summers off. When we offer up our work to God, work becomes meaningful and fulfilling. Likewise, when we offer up our rest to God, time that might otherwise be wasted becomes instead true Sabbath rest and recreation. We rejuvenate our bodies in the silence and open our minds to the Holy Spirit. Leisure grants us freedom: not simply freedom from our obligations but freedom for creativity and delight. We find such things in summer, if we find such things in God.