“Take away the spiritual signification of Scripture, and that compilation can do no more for mortals than can moonbeams to melt a river of ice” (Science and Health, p. 241). These words of Mary Baker Eddy reinforce a theme that pervades her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures—that the Scriptures need to be understood spiritually. I found this especially helpful recently when I was searching for a deeper understanding of what it means to obey the Fourth Commandment, which begins: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.” And it continues: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8–11).
The word sabbath comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to rest.” There are several ways of thinking about the concept of rest. There’s the very common concept of being refreshed by sleeping or being inactive. But there’s also the sense of being quiet, still, at peace, and turning to God. The Psalms capture something of this spirit of stillness when they say: “The Lord is my shepherd; … He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul” (23:1–3) and “Be still, and know that I am God” (46:10).
Jesus understood, probably better than anyone, why this was so vital and how to do it most effectively. There were times when he simply sent the crowds away and retreated to a quiet place for deep stillness and prayer. He once said to his disciples, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). On another occasion “he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). Certainly Jesus took time to rest, but he seems to have thought of it as something more than closing his eyes in sleep. Spiritual stillness is more than just not moving the body. It involves finding a quiet place (usually both literally and figuratively) and settling oneself in order to listen attentively to, and feel the presence of, God, Spirit. It involves entertaining spiritual ideas, and expressing reverence for God—for His goodness and power. This is restful; it is rejuvenating, but it isn’t passive.
