Sabbath: Joining God by Playing
The Greek Fathers in the fourth century chose the word perichoerisis to describe the perfect, mutual indwelling of the Trinity. It literally means âdancing around.â I had a difficult time understanding what this had to do with me when I first studied it. But it was Jurgen Moltmann, the great German theologian, who opened up for me the notion of Sabbath as play in his book, Theology of Play. In Proverbs 8, he argued, we observe God âplayingâ when he made the world. âI was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in humankindâ (8:30-31). God informs Job that when he created the world, âthe morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joyâ (Job 38:7). God is a dancing, playful God. There is a playful wastefulness built into God’s ways in that millions of seeds never germinate, leaves on trees. Read more.