Sabbath

For those who grew up in past generations of the church, there might some stories to share about the practices of sabbath that maybe seem a little unusual looking back on it now. When I was a child growing up in Cutlerville, I had a friend on the street whose family had a swimming pool; often I would be invited over on summer days to go swimming. But for reasons I never understood, they did not swim on Sunday afternoons. However, if it was a hot and humid Sunday on which temperature was 85 degrees or higher, then they were allowed to go in the pool (this was back before most people had air conditioning in their houses). However, they were only allowed to stand in the pool, they could not swim.

I grew up never understanding things like this. My family went to church on Sunday, but I cannot say that I grew up with sabbath ever being about a list of rules. Being in Cutlerville, though, where just about every neighbor on my block went to a CRC church, my father once told me that I was free to decide how to use my time on Sunday, just don’t let the neighbors see me do it.

For some people, sabbath was about a day of rules. For others, sabbath was still a day set aside from all others, but was not regulated by a list of dos and don’ts. And for still others, sabbath meant nothing at all—it was just another day of the week like all the rest. We are starting our series of faith practices looking at this idea of sabbath because it is one that seems to swing in so many different directions. On the one hand, sabbath ranks high on the list of faith practices because it is the only one that shows up in the Ten Commandments. God commands his people to keep the sabbath. But on the other hand, Jesus himself got into trouble over and over again for breaking the rules around this command of sabbath. It is worth our time to begin this journey of faith practices by taking a closer look at the faith practice of sabbath.

Luke 6:1–11 (NIV)

Luke 6:1–11 NIV

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus confronts a misunderstanding about what the sabbath is and how it should be kept as a faith practice

Here are two stories from Luke in which Jesus confronts a misunderstanding about what the sabbath is and how it should be kept as a faith practice. Let’s remember that right here at the beginning: sabbath is a faith practice. Taking intentional time to rest is a practice that builds your discipleship. Holy rest makes me a better disciple of Jesus. So, let’s figure out what sabbath actually is, and how practicing sabbath can make you a better disciple of Jesus.

Mishnah | 39 specific activities which are prohibited on the sabbath | “mountains hanging by a hair”

Here in Luke 6 Jesus gets in trouble for breaking the rules of sabbath. A little background for this passage. Old Testament Jews had a collection of writings about the law in addition to the scriptures themselves. This book of laws was called the Mishnah. In this book is a section called Shabbath which spells out 39 specific activities which are prohibited on the sabbath. This list of 39 sabbath prohibitions are referred in Jewish history as the forty-less-one. And the Mishnah refers to this list as “mountains hanging by a hair.” Meaning, the task of perfectly keeping these rules about sabbath was nearly impossible to accomplish.

sabbath is not just taking a day off

Jesus shows us that Sabbath is not about just following a set of rules. But neither is the sabbath abolished; Jesus does not do away with the sabbath altogether. Neither is sabbath just a day off; there are plenty of people in the world who take a day off but would not count it as keeping any kind of sabbath. These are all things which point out for us what the sabbath is NOT. But I suppose that may not get us any closer to defining what the sabbath IS.

The closest thing we get from Jesus in Luke 6 towards a description of sabbath comes as a somewhat confusing statement in verse 5.

Luke 6:5 (NIV)

Luke 6:5 NIV

Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus has the authority to define what the sabbath is | Jesus opens and invites eternal sabbath | show us something about what sabbath looks like

What does it mean that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath? In simple terms it means that Jesus is saying that he has the authority to define what the sabbath is—and his authority is greater than that of the Mishnah upon which the Pharisees and teachers of the law base their authority. Jesus says that (and Luke includes it in this passage) as a way of declaring that the actions of Jesus in this passage show us something about what sabbath looks like.

(1) God's gift to us (2) time set apart to rest from work (3) worship God (4) tend to our soul (5) bless others

Let me refer to the Faith Practices book to see five ways we see and understand sabbath in light of Jesus showing us in scripture. Sabbath is (1) God's gift to us, (2) time set apart to rest from work, (3) to worship God, (4) to tend to our soul, and (5) to bless others. It is a gift from God because sabbath is something that God himself started and God himself maintains.

sabbath is rooted in creation — properly realigns who we are in relation to God, to ourselves, to one another, to the creation

In Genesis 1 we read about God’s work of creation, and on the seventh day God rested from his work. In the Old Testament, this pattern of rest based upon the number seven became part of Israel’s life. Every seventh day was sabbath (Saturday). Every seventh year was to be kept as a sabbath year of rest. And after seven of those sabbath years took place—49 years (7X7)—the fiftieth year was the ultimate sabbath, called the year of Jubilee. You can read all about that in the Old Testament. But this calendar of sabbath started with God and came as a gift from God.

(1) God's gift to us (2) time set apart to rest from work (3) worship God — upward (4) tend to our soul — inward (5) bless others — outward

Sabbath is about rest. It is intentional time to stop doing the activities of work. It is intentional time to get off the hamster wheel of our schedules and calendars. Time to stop from normal everyday life is important because sabbath is intended for that to become time that is focused in other directions. In particular it is time focused towards worship of God, towards tending your own soul, and towards blessing others. Pay attention particularly to the three directions of sabbath focus. Upward, inward, and outward. A time set aside to worship God is upward sabbath. Time set aside for personal rest, recreation, and restoration is inward sabbath, and time set aside to lift up, encourage, and bless those around us is outward sabbath.

do I have sabbath time set aside? is there upward, inward, and outward sabbath in my sabbath?

All three are necessary. Here is where I want all of us to begin thinking about the way we approach and keep sabbath in our own ways. First, do you have sabbath time set aside? Is there time you routinely block in your schedule to rest from the normal activities and pace of life? And second, is there upward, inward, and outward sabbath in your intentional time which is set aside from normal everyday life? Sabbath time includes worship of God, it includes tending to the joy and refreshment of your own soul, and it includes blessings which are given for others. Sabbath rest is not just taking a day off; it is time set aside that includes those three directions of upward, inward, and outward.

sabbath creates the space for the other faith practices to fill — creates space for God to fill my life

When I introduced this series, one of the things I said is that the faith practices are all there for us to sort of try out. I said then that some of these faith practices will resonate with you more than others. Some faith practices make up the bulk of our discipleship training, while there may be other faith practices that rarely or never make profound impacts on our walk of discipleship. However, those observations do not apply to this one. Sabbath is not one of those take-it-or-leave-it faith practices. And it is not only because this one comes to us as a commandment from the Old Testament. Rather, it is because sabbath creates the space for the other faith practices to fill. In coming weeks we are going to look at other faith practices such as engaging scripture, prayer, remembering, wonder, and the list goes on. Sabbath is what creates the space in our lives for these other faith practices to show up. A regular and routine sabbath is the container which holds so many of the other faith practices in ways that make them regular habits and rhythms in your week. This one—sabbath—is not optional. Sabbath is a faith practice that we all need. Intentional time set aside in your week for worship, for personal rest and refreshment, and for blessing other people simply must happen for every single of you if you are to ever grow in discipleship and go deeper in your relationship with Jesus.

this week — try new ways of experiencing sabbath

faith practices are about becoming better disciples who follow Jesus

So, that’s our goal this week. The challenge for this week is to intentionally create moments of sabbath in your week. Let me remind all of us that this series is a sort of try-it-out experience each week as we move on from one faith practice to another. And so, this week I challenge all of us to try out new ways of taking sabbath. Because here’s the thing, maybe it is too easy to walk away from this and think to yourself that you’ve already got it. I already take Sunday as a break from work. I already come to church and worship God on Sundays. I already have a faith practice of sabbath. This week is for stretching yourself to try new and different ways of thinking about and experiencing sabbath. Remember what I said in the first message of this series; this is about better discipleship. We don’t just want to be disciples who follow Jesus; we want to be better disciples who follow Jesus. Try new ways of sabbath this week.

block time in my schedule for sabbath

Just for this week, then, keep track of how it goes. Take notes or keep a journal to write down what you do in your sabbath adventures for this week. I am the kind of person who keeps a fairly meticulous daily calendar. And I tend to do that all electronically on my phone. So, as I have been thinking about this faith practice of sabbath, it has occurred to me that I never actually add those time blocks into my calendar marked as sabbath. I will confess that my sabbath experiences have been random and scattered because my sabbath squeezes into the leftover time (if there is any). That means the first thing on my list for trying out new ways of sabbath this week is to begin by blocking sabbath times into my weekly calendar as the first thing in my time-planning for the week. I know that for me, trying new ways of sabbath this week is not going to work unless I write it into my weekly schedule as the first thing before any of my other weekly tasks go in. What about you? What will step one be for you this week to make this happen and to try out some new sabbath experiences?

lectio divina reading of scripture

And then step two is to fill those sabbath time spaces. Here is where the Faith Practices booklet is helpful. Every one of these faith practice chapters is going to have four headings. First is something that in Latin is called lectio divina. It means “divine reading” and refers to a particular way of reading scripture that has been used for centuries. There are passages recommended in this section which are meant to be read slowly, and then read again. The goal is not Bible study for new information, but contemplation on what God’s word says for new understanding.

take notes or keep a journal

Next, there are prompts in this booklet for journaling. These are short one questions to help think about the experience of trying out this faith practice. Writing down a few words in response to those questions helps to articulate and refine your thoughts. Then there are ideas and suggestions for activities to practice sabbath. And finally, there is open space in the booklet for writing a few notes of your own in your booklet. My encouragement is to use that space to note the things you try out for each of these faith practices. That way, all your notes on these activities will eventually be collected into this one book. At the end of the summer we will then look back on all those notes, which will help you create from that a personal discipleship plan so that you can continue this path to becoming a better disciple of Jesus.

try something new (upward, inward, outward)

If you do not have the Faith Practices booklet, many of these resources can also be found online at crcna.org/faithpracticesproject. And even if you do have the booklet, check out the online tools. The booklet and website are meant to be side-by-side resources. I am leaving that as homework—yes, these are sermons that will have homework. Those are the places where you will find the descriptions of what sabbath experiences to try. Here is my recommendation. Try at least three of those suggestions in the resources. And balance the three that you choose so that there is at least one sabbath experience that focuses upward, one sabbath experience that focuses inward, and one sabbath experience that focuses outward.

God himself is the one who invites us into sabbath. It is Jesus who says:

Matthew 11:28–30 NIV

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”