Life can get pretty busy at times. As the hours pass, you channel your limited supply of energy into work, relationships, activities, and service. All worthwhile endeavors, but don’t forget to save time and give yourself a rest.God gave us the example of rest by stopping on the seventh day of creation.
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. (Genesis 2:2)
Instead of encouraging us to beat our tired bodies into a stressful wreck, God sets the precedent.
Look at commandment #4: “Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day.” (Exodus 20:8)
Isaiah followed with this reminder: “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.” (Isaiah 58:13)
Enjoy it, but don’t pursue my interests? Think it sounds like a paradox? It is. We should embrace a discipline in our lives that ultimately leads from work to rest. We refocus our hearts, re-energize our spirits, and reorder our lives around God by setting aside time to rest our souls. True Sabbath-keeping is far more than an ancient, outdated rule; it’s also more than a vacation from work. Confused? I thought so.
Sabbath’s Purpose ~
Jesus proclaimed, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)
He shattered the idea of rules for the sake of rules, emphasizing that the Sabbath is not about blind legalism. As we have seen in our Gospel readings for Trinity 16 and 17, Jesus broke many Sabbath rules by healing and meeting needs, He revealed God’s love for people over practice.
In Hebrew, the word for Sabbath, Shabbat, literally means to cease or to stop. Look at it this way… In Sabbath-keeping, we take this day to stop and honor the creator and remember our humanity. Unlike God, we cannot work without stopping. We need rest.
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. (Deuteronomy 5:12)
Deuteronomy on the other hand, commands us to observe the Sabbath as it was originally a time to observe or celebrate God’s freeing His people from the yoke of slavery. In a similar way, we observe Sabbath because we’re not forced to toil every day as those in captivity. We are free to rest.
When we celebrate Sabbath, we are declaring that we are more than our work. Our lives are not dollar signs nor are they our endeavors, no matter how noble. Work ceases to define us because through spending time with God, He redefines us as His children.
Let’s face it, most of us don’t live the 'prairie home companion' life. Our priorities get out of whack. A day for Sabbath rest also helps us to reorder our lives around God, not ourselves. Sabbath is a day “to the Lord your God,” (Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14). In observing the Sabbath, we are both giving a gift to God and imitating Him. We recognize that it’s God’s world, and we need to stop our interfering.
In my opinion, that’s what’s missing from a Christian Sabbath - a true cessation from work and the world, a time wholly set apart for worship. I think we have lost that sense of the point of Shabbat, is to reorient our lives toward God.
I think what’s important is to remember that before we keep a Sabbath day, we need a Sabbath heart. To have a Sabbath heart, means we reflect on who God is. Our prayer book worship reminds us of our dependence on Him for salvation and even our every breath. The reason for structure and liturgy in our worship is to keep us focused that our worship is a spiritual observance, not a ritual.
OK, I know what you’re thinking; "this Sabbath stuff sounds great! But seriously Bishop Ian, I have five deadlines, a boss breathing down my neck, a relationship going south, a mortgage payment, kids that don’t do homework, etc. There’s no time to rest."
I get it, but the Sabbath is more than a nice idea. So, start with this simple exercise; learn to stop. Cease doing what you have to do, and do what you need to do for your soul’s health - that is the basic meaning of Shabbat. Enjoy a day without a to-do list. Honor God through a Sabbath. Refrain from housekeeping, worry, and problem-solving. Avoid those things that might distract you from soaking up the presence of God. Try to avoid the topics of work and money in your conversations.
The idea is not to barricade yourself from the world, but it is to center your entire being on experiencing joy in the presence of God. The goal of Sabbath-keeping is to spend time enjoying God so that you may know Him and love Him more. All else is secondary.
Be a Sabbath-keeper,
Bishop Ian
