The Rest of Sabbath

Consider, if you will, the sloth. The sloth lives in trees, much of the time hanging from a limb by its four strong feet. The encyclopedia says, "Sloths sleep, eat, and travel through the forest upside down." It's a strange thought ... the idea of living upside down. If we did it, we would certainly see things differently. In a world where flowers grow down and balls fall up, anything seems possible. And, if anything were possible, maybe we would even see the ways in which we get our lives upside down. That was the challenge on that sabbath when Jesus went walking through the grainfields with his disciples.

As they walked along, the disciples picked some of the heads of grain and ate them. On any other day of the week that would have been just fine. Travelers were permitted to take grain as long as they did not use a sickle in the field. But the disciples were picking grain on the sabbath when anything resembling work was strictly forbidden. (1)

I should pause here and ask one question - do you know the difference between Law and Gospel? Martin Luther wrote much about these two thoughts - but as a people, we have always struggled with the truth in them. What do you think of when you hear the word “Law”? Probably something along the lines of something you MUST do or be prepared for consequences. Or even “Law is something that tells us how to live a better life in society.” In some ways, both of these ideas are correct. Luther said “The law discovers the disease. The gospel gives the remedy.” (3)

Think about where the Israelites were when the original laws - the ten commandments were given. They were wandering in the desert. They were just beginning to know who they were and whose they were. They did not know how to live in faith and truth - having just come from slavery and complete dominance. They needed these laws to show them the extent of their sinfulness. To show them the way back to God. To discover the disease they had been living in. Jesus taught us that he did not come to abolish the law - but to fulfill it. This is why we still today, teach our children the ten commandments and the law that points us toward our sinful nature. It shows us how far we have come from living right lives in God’s Grace - but - the law can not and will not ever save us. Even if we could follow the law perfectly, it still falls short as it only shows us where we have fallen short. If this were not true, the law would have been enough. Jesus would never have had to come - to live among us - and to die. But He did.

So what, then, is Gospel? Luther said that the Gospel is like a fresh, mild, cool air in the extreme heat of summer, a solace and comfort in the anguish of the conscience.(4) The Gospel is hope. The gospel is light. The Gospel is love. The Gospel is Christ.

The fact that the Israelites needed law to understand their sinfulness is overwhelming. Because, if we are honest, we still need the same law to show us where we have fallen away. But God didn’t stop there. God gave us the Gospel of Christ to give us new life.

The law was never meant to enslave us. It was never meant to bind us. The spirit of the Gospel gives us freedom to break free.

But - what does all this have to do with our topic today? That Impossible promise of rest. Just as God gave the Law - then followed with the Gospel - so the sabbath has evolved from law to gospel if we understand and believe. The law says, “Work six days and then observe the seventh as the Sabbath.” But under the gospel the arrangement is, “Rest on the first day before you have done a stroke of work. Just as the week begins, take your rest, and after that, in the strength derived from it, and from the grateful motives which arise out of that one blessed day of rest, give to the Lord the six days of the week.” There is a change from law to gospel indicated in that very change.

If we decide to take God up on this radical upside-down idea, then we will get to consider living in a new way. If we decide to grant ourselves a sabbath, that means at least for one day each week, we can stop running, stop responding to the bells and sirens of our world, stop seeing the dust balls, the bills, and the weeds, just for one day. On this one glorious day, we can take the time to feel the wind against our skin, listen to the birds singing, and appreciate a new unity with the world around us. No one will praise us for doing this, of course, but we will certainly feel more alive.

For those of us who are willing to see the world upside down, we might just end up seeing it the way God sees it. It will take some getting used to. We've been living right-side up for so long. When we get the hang of it, though, we just may be surprised by an experience of divine love so strong that it pours over us like a rain shower and doesn't simply soak our clothes, but runs through our skin into our very souls. And that, friends, is the Gospel. Amen.

From Sermons.com, Original Sermon by Kristin Borsgard Wee, Living Upside Down

2. Spurgeon, Charles H, 2,200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon

3. Blanchard, John, Editor; Martin Luther

4. Draper, Edyth, Editor; Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World