4. the sabbath:holiness

"on the seventh day god completed the work he had been doing. he rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. god blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he had rested from all his work of creating." (genesis 2:2-3)

simone weil had the insight that god and all creation is less than god alone. this is a clue to why holiness is spoken only of the sabbath, that part of creation in which god rested. often we hear said, whether in awe or in derision, that the world was created in seven days. but everything that was made was made in six days. yet the week has seven days, ending in the holiness of god's resting.

as the story that begins in genesis continues, rest and its connection with holiness will be a recurring theme. sometimes it is the story of holiness lost, as in psalm 95 (:10-11):

"for forty years that generation repelled me,
until i said; how unreliable these people
who refuse to grasp my ways! and so, in anger, i swore that not one
would reach the place of rest i had for them.

sometimes it is an invitation to holiness, as in isaiah (30:15):

for thus says the lord YHWH, the holy one of israel:
your salvation lies in returning and rest,
your strength in complete trust." (jb emended by the author after bcp 1979)

sometimes it is reported as an experience, as in psalm 131 (:1-2):

'YHWY, my heart has no lofty ambitions,
my eyes do not look too high.
i am not concerned with great affairs
or marvels beyond my scope.
enough for me to keep my soul tranquil and quiet
like a child in its mother's arms,s
as content as a child that has been weaned.

and finally, when the messiah had come, and the writer of the epistle to the hebrews would try to understand this awesome act of god "according to the scriptures," he or she would use the metaphor of sabbath rest to describe our great salvation. (hebrews 3:7-4:11)