Today is Friday, for observant Jews the Day of Preparation before the Sabbath. That’s how I’ve come to understand retirement.
American culture presents retirement as a vacation from work, but when you’re on vacation, sooner or later you want to return home. “Volunteer, stay active,” we’re told. Fine if you can, but sooner or later you can’t. A classmate with medical problems says, “Old age sucks.” And my experience is the church hasn’t prepared us for this season of life. My fellow pastors and I prepared people for death, but what about the 5, 10, 20 plus years when you no longer have a job, are still active and above ground, but know death will eventually come? How do I spiritually understand these years between work and death?
“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” That's how Hebrews describes the life to come (4:9). In these years before our coming eternal Sabbath rest, we can vacation, volunteer, enjoy family, be healthy or not, and whatever else, but…and this is what American culture can’t teach us, only Scripture can…our mindset is that we are preparing for the Sabbath to come.
2000 years ago, “The Jew carried the thought of the Sabbath in his mind during the entire week…. Thursday was the market day on which Jews of the farms and villages of Palestine brought their produce to town, and merchants displayed and sold their wares. But the climax of the preparations for the sacred Day of Rest came on Friday. It was a day of hurry and bustle for all. It was considered a great merit to do work on Friday in preparation for the Sabbath. The Jews were so occupied on Friday, preparing for the Sabbath, that they were certain that the prophet Elijah would not appear with his message of redemption on Friday.” (Hayyim Schauss, The Jewish Festivals, 13; about Elijah: Malachi 4:5-6)
Through the week and most especially on Friday, a devout Jew looked eager to what was coming. Through the years and most especially in retirement, a devout Christian looks eagerly toward the eternal Sabbath to come. “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).