There's something kind of providential about lecturing on Sabbath the day after Labor Day. Today I'll be discussing with my students the Sabbath and the rhythms of creation.

I do this one day after reading a psychologist explain that Sunday morning for many people is the most depressing time of the week. They're in motion all week long, in either work or play, and then suddenly they don't know what to do with themselves. I couldn't help but hum Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Comin' Down" as I read this because the song squares up lyrically with this research exactly.

Whatever you believe the connection between Lord's Day and Sabbath (and I do think the Lord's Day is a Christian Sabbath), perhaps one aspect of God's good creation our neighbors fail to see from us is our joy in the rhythms of the week. Do we labor six days, picturing the creative zeal of God? Do we joyously mark out the eigth day as a time of feasting and celebration?

Maybe if our neighbors saw us in a weekly Easter holiday in which consumption is proven not to be the root of human existence, they'd be more curious about the final Rest to which we point.