Mystic Musings: Lent 2/28
“On the Sabbath try and make no noise that goes beyond the house.
Cries of passion between lovers are exempt.”
St. Thomas Aquinas, 13th century Catholic theologian
Photo by Diana Polekhina @diana_pole
We often think of the concept of Sabbath as being a time where we set aside normal activities to renew our connection to God. In the Jewish tradition Shabbat rules bar 39 different types of labor including cooking, shopping, washing, driving, lighting a fire and all forms of commerce. The idea is to remove all unnecessary distractions to focus on prayer, family and study (all of which it, is assumed, points to God).
Interestingly enough, sex between married partners is not on that list. In fact, it is encouraged, especially on Friday night just as Shabbat begins as way to deepen the bond between partners and celebrate one’s divine intimacy with God.
Sabbath is about making room for the intimate connection between God and humanity. We often make the dualistic mistake of believing that spirit is good and flesh is bad. Sometimes that gets expressed in a spirituality that is devoid of earthy bodily expressions where sex is seen as sinful and prayerful disembodied solitude is seen as saintly.
Photo by Zelle Duda @zelleduda
But St. Thomas Aquinas so beautifully and tantalizingly reminds us that a relationship with God is about embodying a seductive and intimate love affair with the divine.
Sabbath is about renewing our connection with the divine. Everything that gets in the way of that gets put aside for 24 hours. Everything that cultivates that should be celebrated—yes, even cries of passion!
Sit quietly. Breathe slowly and deeply and get in touch with your body. Ponder these questions:
What does your body most yearn for? Connection? Rest? Touch? Forgiveness? Acceptance?
Do you feel a difference between “loving God” and “being in love with God”?
What does intimacy with God or the divine feel like and look like to you?
In what ways do your relationships reflect that divine intimacy? With friends? With children? With family? With lovers or partners?
If you practice some form of Sabbath, what needs to be put aside in that time to foster a deeper connection to God or the Divine? What needs to be more fully embraced?