What does it mean to be a people of balance? That is the question we are asked to consider this month. Other questions come to mind, as well. How do you know when your life is out of balance? How do you restore balance?

Keeping the Sabbath is a discipline of balance. From Sabbath we get the word sabbatical. Max Page, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, has written about the reason and importance of maintaining the original purpose for sabbaticals. “Fields and animals worked endlessly will become progressively less productive and eventually die”. The sabbatical year was a time for shifting emphases, from production to reflection and rejuvenation. The long-term goal was to produce better fields, a better harvest, and better people.

To shift emphases, Dr. Page suggests that we explore new areas, expand our minds with art or music or great literature, and generally upset our routines. This is exactly what I did on my sabbatical. I look forward to sharing a snippet of that experience with you this Sunday.