“The Genesis account provides a glimpse of God’s view of biblical shalom, in which the world will be made right as God intended it to be. Observation of the sabbath is one of the mechanisms God uses as a part of the process of restoring shalom.”

Cannon, Mae Elise. Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2013, p. 129.

Comment: This can be tricky for Christians. Is it, as Cannon has, “observation of the sabbath”? or is it “observation of sabbath”? By restricting our observation with the definite article, we run the risk of becoming legalists who confine our holiness to that period of corporate worship we have on Sunday mornings. In the New Testament age, we may be called to observe sabbath all week long and every day. If we are to pray without ceasing, we should set aside the hustle-bustle of the world. We should cultivate sabbath and shalom throughout our minutes and hours. We find the sacrament of the present moment.