Keeping The Sabbath Wholly by Marva J. Dawn

Eugene Peterson says this about Keeping the Sabbath Wholly:  "This is a superb account of Sabbath keeping Marva Dawn show us what it looks like, how it feels. She is generous in her information -- studying the Scriptures, passing on the traditions, reflecting on the experience -- but most she simple tells us what she is doing as she does it. She comes into my life as a companion in Sabbath keeping (not as a lecturer, not as a scold) and gives me fresh heart in living more deeply into this most wonderful of all rhythms." 

Please note: This is not a book on legalistic duty but one providing methods and motivation for enjoying a day of significance. The book is divided into sections of ceasing, resting, embracing and feasting. I benefited greatly from reading this book and I'm putting together my ritual for the Sabbath Day celebration. I am convinced that the common rhythms of life are gifts to us from God which add spiritual dimension when observed and may be one of the enduring characteristic of the monastic life.

Marva Dawn's dedication of this book is an interesting one:

This book is dedicated to all the people who need the Sabbath --
the busiest, who need to work from a cohesive, unfragmented self;
social activists, who need a cycle of worship and action;
those who chase after fulfillment and need to understand their deepest yearnings and hear the silence;
those who have lost their ability to play because of the materialism and technologization of our society, who need beauty and gaiety and delight;
those who have lost their passion and need to get in touch with feelings;
those who are alone and need emotional nourishment;
those who live in community and need solitude;
those who cannot find their life's priorities and need a new perspective;
those who think the future is dictated by the present, who need hope and vision of the future to change the present order;
those who long for deeper family life and want to nurture certain values;
the poor and the oppressed, who need to mourn and to dance in the prison camp;
the rich and the oppressors, who need to learn nonviolence, stewardship and God's purpose in the world.;
those who suffer, who need to learn how suffering can be redemptive;
professional theologians, who need to bring the heart back into theology;
those who don't know how religion fits into the modern world, who need a relationship with God;

The book ends with this comparison by the author:

"When the Sabbath is finally fulfilled, our divisions and weaknesses will cease forever. We will rest eternally in God's grace and love. We will embrace his kingdom and sovereignty ultimately and perfectly. We will feast unceasingly in his presence."

 From the Preface:

"In Jadaica the Sabbath is loved as a bride or a queen. Deep in our beings there is a longing for completion, and all sorts of prostitutes in our culture compete to satisfy that yearning. Only holy time, in which we experience the presence of God, can fill our emptiness. When we focus on our love for the bride, nothing else matters. May our growing together to understand the meaning of Sabbath keeping give you the opportunity to fall in love with the Sabbath Queen and thereby love more deeply the King of the Universe!"