For those of us who do not make a living directly from the land or sea, nature may be a sanctuary of sabbath. Whether growing plants in an apartment or gardening in the yard, walking the dog in the neighborhood or sitting in a local park, watching nature documentaries or visiting the shore, glimpsing a wild animal, listening to birdsong, or savoring the scent of blossoms or flowers, nature can afford release, rest, and restoration. A generation ago, natural scientists sought to formalize this possibility by naming it biophilia—the human urge to affiliate with other forms of life. More recently, some in the West have come to appreciate the Japanese practice of shinrin yoku or “forest bathing” (which is not—despite the name—the same as taking a bath in a forest - see page 11 for more about this). Yet whatever the form or term, connecting with nature can be a way of realizing sabbath.
Scripture, however, spurs us to more than keeping sabbath by connecting with nature. It attests that God summons us to provide nature with sabbath. For example, while Israel was in the wilderness after its Exodus from Egypt, “The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai … ‘the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruits; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord’” (Leviticus 25:1-4). These instructions from God on Sinai reissue human beings’ initial commission from God in Eden to till and keep their garden home (Genesis 2:15). Hence, both as created by God and as a people in covenant with God, human beings are to live from nature but also to let it rest. Indeed, God’s original covenant is not only with human beings (Genesis 9:9, 11, 12) or every living thing (Genesis 9:10, 12) but with the earth itself (Genesis 9:13). Accordingly, nature’s sabbath should not simply be a by-product of human rest. Rather, humans should keep sabbath in part so that nature too can rest. When we do, nature blesses us with its bounty and beauty, and we participate in God’s fulfillment of God’s covenant with nature.
Yet just as true peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of righteousness, we do not offer nature sabbath simply by letting it rest—even when we do so deliberately. Instead, extending sabbath to nature means protecting it and restoring it as well. This, of course, requires work. As a result, nature proves more than a sanctuary of sabbath—even for those who do not make a living directly from the land or sea. Nature emerges as something we are called to love.
This call to love nature does not prevent nature from being a place to rest. On the contrary, just as the Christian duty to love God and neighbor is compatible with keeping sabbath, providing nature with sabbath is consistent with taking sabbath by connecting with nature. In fact, these activities are often mutually reinforcing. So this Lent, let us consider contributing to nature’s sabbath by planting native species, picking up litter while walking the dog, decreasing the animal products in our diets, becoming involved in local land trusts and wildlife preserves, or embracing another of the many ways to foster its flourishing. Such activities reliably enhance the sabbath we find in nature and thereby are among the disciplines that constitute the rewards and responsibilities of Christian discipleship.
