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Sabbath, a time “to shut down the computer” and Rest: Catholic Bishop in South Africa

Bishop Sylvester David, Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Town Archdiocese in South Africa. Credit: SACBC

By Agnes Aineah

Cape Town, 02 May, 2023 / 8:40 pm (ACI Africa).

The Sabbath should be a moment “to close the factory and shut down the computer”, the Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Town Archdiocese in South Africa has said, underscoring the importance of rest.

In his Monday, May 1 reflection on the Feast of Joseph the worker, Bishop Sylvester David found it regrettable that people are so used to staying “productive” at work that they find any days set aside for rest a waste of their time.

“We have long become used to being productive units and feel quite restless and lost when we are not producing. Productiveness is important but then so too is rest,” Bishop Sylvester said.

He added, “There are certain blessings which can only reach us when we are still. Therefore, we have to close the factory and shut down the computer.”

“Normally when public holidays in South Africa follow each other in rapid succession we celebrate long weekends, just as we celebrated one last week with Freedom Day occurring on Thursday. These long weekends can certainly take time away from our productive lives,” the member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) said.

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He added that the feast of Joseph the Worker is important as “it imbues our work and rest cycle with meaning.”

The South Africa Catholic Bishop found it concerning that many people are drowning in work, and hardly have any time for themselves.

“Let’s look at our life situations. For so many of us, life is tiresome. Many people do not work to live; they live to work,” he said.

According to the Catholic Church leader who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2019, God Himself sanctified the Sabbath and set it aside for rest. And that Jesus made his disciples appreciate rest, away from work as well.

He recalled that God completed His work of creation and “on the seventh day, God sanctified time, hallowed it, and rested.”

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“We too, have been called to rest,” the South African Bishop said, and added, “Remember the comforting words of Jesus: ‘Come to me all who labor and are overburdened and I will give you rest… I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls’ ... The term ‘rest’ is repeated. It was important for Jesus.”

Bishop Sylvester underlined what he described as “a sacred duty to rescue the Sabbath to its original form and intent”, saying, “Sabbath is when we are intended to take delight but unfortunately, over time it became legalistic and in itself quite burdensome”.

“As Jesus would have it: the Sabbath is for the human being and not the other way around,” he said in his May 1 reflection.

Agnes Aineah

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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