The "For Sale" sign up the road has borne the summer well. Through heatwave and torrential rain it has stood unmoved and seemingly unnoticed. In the spring it would have lasted but a week in this area before somebody had snapped it up. But no, it's still there, stoically neglected where it stands. Has Mammon's travelling circus finally exhausted its spectators and got the message that it has outstayed its welcome? I certainly hope so.
Recent weeks have seen signs of our economy slowing down. This could be a blessing in disguise; it was moving far too fast for most of us anyway. Economic growth may have brought its advantages but it also delivered new financial demands that just keep increasing. More and more we are becoming like ants, working overtime to pay the mortgage, the bills and the ever-increasing community charges.
Once upon a time we could take an occasional rest from this toil, but for many of us that is a luxury from the distant past. Our day off is often the only day in which the groceries can be bought, household finances sorted, or when the laundry can be done. This kind of day of rest hardly improves the quality of life.
In the Book of Exodus Moses taught us to remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. "Six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work." There was certainly great wisdom in his teaching. The God of Moses has always been shown as intimately concerned with our well-being. That concern led him to order us to rest once a week for our own good. On the anthropological level, the longevity of the ancient Hebrews is normally ascribed to a combination of their strict dietary laws, their ritual cleanliness and their insistence on a day of rest. All three areas were regulated by divine command. It appears that the author of life knew something about its quality as well.
Our society still attributes some value to a healthy diet and sanitary conditions, but a genuine quality of life surely needs the third Hebrew element: rest. The social teaching of the Church in Rerum Novarum placed the onus on employers to ensure that workers had adequate time and freedom to attend to their religious duties. As the Bible is the principal source of Christian teaching, rest is also one of these duties. Sadly, employees are quietly accepting of the need for more and more overtime. Fear of economic failure and deprivation are exacting a huge cost on our quality of life.
The emerging acceptance of our economic life to the detriment of our social and religious lives needs to be challenged. Wouldn't it be admirable if we could define ourselves as something other than our profession? Is it nobler to be a person than to be a programmer? Is it better to be loved than litigated? Am I your friend or just the executive vice-president of the sales department? I need to be more than just what I do to earn my keep. I long to experience again the lethargic peace of what a Sunday used to be: A trip to church, a family lunch, a call in on Granny, watching a football match, going for a pint. Work tomorrow was a universe away. One day every week should be very different from the other six. All tigers, be they Indian or Celtic, need to sleep sometimes.
If an economic slowdown restores a day of rest for all of us, I pray that it comes quickly. But then again, one "For Sale" sign doesn't make a Sunday.
F.MacE.