Sabbath Season Musings

Today is officially the first day of fall. Even without a calendar, we can tell that Creation has changed seasons: the shadows are crisper, the leaves are colorful, temperatures are cooler.

But the real change is happening in the earth, as Creation prepares for her Sabbath Season. We can learn so much from Creation, and people of the earth have done it for ever.

At the end of summer, the male deer's antlers will have a velvety covering to them, but by the time fall comes, they will be just bone. In fact, people of the earth can tell by the bones of the deer what kind of winter they will have. “When you look at the marrow, and the marrow is really thin and the bone is really thick, then you know it is going to be a really harsh winter because Mother Nature is preparing the animal for the winter that’s to come. If it is a thinner bone with thicker marrow, then you know the winter is going to be fine,” says a spokesman for the Osoyoos Indian Band.

Then there is the leaf change...people of the earth can tell when the leaves will change and how vibrant they will be based on the summer rains and temperatures. Scientists tell us the main agent for the change is light, so as the nights grow longer, reduced light starts the chemical change that leads to the color change and the dropping of the leaves. The combination of reduced light, lack of nutrients and less water triggers the tree to start the process of breaking down, going into rest mode. I would call it a Sabbath Season.

In the process of Creation, God rested on the 7th day. Rest might be considered as essential part of Creation, thus Sabbath time might be considered as essential part of living. It should not come as a surprise to us that in the Creation, God gave nature a season of rest and made it essential for there to be beauty and growth in the other seasons.

As Jesus said,

"Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."John 12. 24

Muse with me about this Sabbath Season and how it might be the same for you. What does Sabbath living look like? How might we live our lives in the here and now so that they will flourish and bear much fruit in a season to come?

(The technical information I gleaned from the Old Farmer's Almanac!)