Gimme a Break

Announcements, Joys, & Concerns

Spirit of the living God,

Fall afresh on me

(repeat)

Melt me

mold me

fill me

use me

Spirit of the living God,

Fall afresh on me.

Call to Worship:

Leader: We will give thanks to you, O LORD, with our whole heart; we will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

All: We will be glad and exult in you; we will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Leader: O magnify the LORD with me.

All: Let us exalt God’s name together!

—from & , NRSV

Opening Prayer

There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God,

a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God,

hold us, who wait before thee, near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God,

a place where we our Saviour meet, near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God,

hold us, who wait before thee, near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release, near to the heart of God,

a place where all is joy and peace, near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God,

hold us, who wait before thee, near to the heart of God.

Merciful God, you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you. We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy. We have not loved you with a pure heart, nor have we loved our neighbor as ourselves. We have not done justice, loved kindness, or walked humbly with you, our God.

Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving-kindness. In your great compassion, cleanse us from our sin. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Do not cast us from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. —based on

Declaration of Forgiveness

Gloria Patri (Glory to God)

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.As it was in the beginning, it is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.

Musical Meditation: Erin Williams

Witnessing God’s Work

Prayer for Illumination (understanding)

Genesis 2:1–3 ESV

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Deuteronomy 5:6 ESV

“ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Scripture Readings

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 ESV

“ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Luke 6:1–5 ESV

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Message:

Gimme a Break

There is still slavery in the world today. But most of the slavery in the world today is well hidden or is happening far away in another place. Our country has a terrible history of slavery, but that was a long time ago and none of us sitting in this room were there to see it first hand. It can be hard for us to imagine what life must have been like for the Israelite people in slavery in Egypt.

We can get a small glimpse of it by reading accounts from slaves in other times and places, or by watching movies or looking at art that imagines the horror the people went through there.  But we will never fully understand it. 

It was physically grueling work. It’s been imagined by some that perhaps the Hebrew people helped to build large monuments like pyramids or palaces and other government buildings. They would have had to do so by hand, from scratch. They would have had to make bricks, cut stone by hand, haul that stone from the quarry site to the building site. They worked day in and day out under the cruel eye of their Egyptian taskmasters.  

They were exhausted. Many of them probably didn’t know what it felt like o not be exhausted. It was physically exhausting, and I’m sure it was emotionally exhausting as well to be working day in and day out for nothing more than a slave’s room and board. And while many generations had passed, they still passed down the stories and faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Surely they wondered when they would be free of this meager existence to move back to the land of their ancestors. 

Finally, after Moses leads them into freedom and they are headed back to the land they’d only dreamed of, God gives them some guidance as to how to live their lives. They’d been immersed in someone else’s culture and worldview for so long, they needed a reminder of what God’s community looks like.

God begins by establishing who is in charge - who the world is created and established by. They have been living among people worshipping many gods and this was an important reminder that there is only one true God. 

Then, before moving from the “treat God like this” commandments to the “treat people like this” commandments, there is this interesting one that is - on the surface - about loving God, but it’s also about loving neighbor because it talks about other people. And it’s also about loving self. There is a commandment about self-care. 

I can only imagine the emotional and physical fatigue that came from a lifetime of slavery and hard labor, followed by the exhaustian after fleeing Egypt, walking through a dry sea, watching the army that was chasing you drown in that self-same sea, then beginning the hard desert journey back to where they were headed. 

So God says, “Whoa. Slow down. Even I took a break from creating after making all the things you see around you. You’re pretty full of yourselves if you think you don’t need a break sometimes too.” 

Rest is a gift. It is a gift to be able to say to oneself, “You know what? Today is for rest. Today is the day I recharge.” 

That was probably really difficult for these people who had literally grown up overworked. From day one, it was work work work. But God said to stop. Rest. Take a day to refresh your relationship with God, make sure everyone around you is able to take that opportunity as well, and for crying out loud, stop working for a day. Our bodies, minds, and spirits are all connected. You cannot separate them. And when one is unhealthy or exhausted, it negatively affects them all. 

By the time Jesus rolled around, this commandment had become a super weird a legalistic thing. There were all kinds of nitpicky rules about what you could and couldn't do on the Sabbath. One of those rules was about harvesting. 

Because they weren’t supposed to be doing any work on the Sabbath, Jesus and the disciples shouldn’t have been “harvesting” on the Sabbath. Except what they were doing was literally just grabbing heads of grain as they walked through a field. This was perfectly legal, for the record, to grab some grain from a field, there were provisions in the law that people were to share a bit of their harvest with others in this way so that nobody went hungry. So they weren’t in trouble for stealing. They were in trouble for grabbing a tiny bite of food as they walked through a field because that was work and you can’t work on the Sabbath. 

Jesus’ response is key here. First of all, he points out that God’s law was never meant to be so rigid it hurt people. Even King David and his men ate sacred bread that was meant for the priests because they were hungry and there was nothing else to eat. 

Then he points out that Sabbath is about God. It has nothing to do with the rules humanity imposes on it. 

Jesus refocuses us from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law. If the law is hurting innocent people, there’s a problem. 

I want to take a moment to circle back a few weeks in our series. It’s important to remember a couple things about the commandments:

They are about covenant - relationship - not about crime and punishment. 

They are about relationship with God, relationship with others, and especially in the case of this one, relationship with self.

They are about relationship with God, relationship with others, and especially in the case of this one, relationship with self.

This is key, because most of us struggle to find health in all three of those relationships. Many of us don’t feel like we can get much traction in any of them. 

This is key, because most of us struggle to find health in all three of those relationships. Many of us don’t feel like we can get much traction in any of them. 

They are all interconnected. Every single one of these commandments affects all of the others. 

They are all interconnected. Every single one of these commandments affects all of the others. 

They are not just about individual behavior. Remember that the commandments were given to a community. This idea is so important that eventually, this community develops practices of confession - but not just confessing individual sins. More important was the idea of confessing the sins of the community.

They are not just about individual behavior. Remember that the commandments were given to a community. This idea is so important that eventually, this community develops practices of confession - but not just confessing individual sins. More important was the idea of confessing the sins of the community.

Trouble in the Text

Dear pastor, what does this have to do with Sabbath? 

I’m glad you asked. 

You are all sitting here. 

On Sunday.

There is still slavery in the world today. But most of the slavery in the world today is well hidden or is happening far away in another place. Our country has a terrible history of slavery, but that was a long time ago and none of us sitting in this room were there to see it first hand. It can be hard for us to imagine what life must have been like for the Israelite people in slavery in Egypt.

The day that is, for most Christians worldwide, marked as the Sabbath. 

You are well on your way to a successful Sabbath keeping today. Some of you might mow a lawn or cook a meal or even go shopping. And that’s fine. For many people mowing the lawn is a type of rest. It’s physical work, but there is the satisfaction at the end of having a neat yard. And if you have a job in which you don’t do much physical work, physical work can be relaxing and rest-giving and fulfilling. For others, cooking a meal is a joyful gift to the people around them. I think cooking is work and I hate it, but others love to do it. So go for it. Sometimes, we need a break from the crazy busyness of our lives to go restock our fridge.

We can get a small glimpse of it by reading accounts from slaves in other times and places, or by watching movies or looking at art that imagines the horror the people went through there. But we will never fully understand it.

The key is if those things are life giving or not. If they are making you more tired, go take a nap today instead. Or read a book or watch a movie. But if those things make you happy and bring wholeness to your life - go enjoy. Even Jesus picked grain on the Sabbath because he was hungry. Sabbath is about wholeness, not a list of things you can’t do.

It was physically grueling work. It’s been imagined by some that perhaps the Hebrew people helped to build large monuments like pyramids or palaces and other government buildings. They would have had to do so by hand, from scratch. They would have had to make bricks, cut stone by hand, haul that stone from the quarry site to the building site. They worked day in and day out under the cruel eye of their Egyptian taskmasters.

But as we continue our exploration of the changing world around us and the ways that we can offer comfort and rest to those around us, I want us to look more today at the community aspect of Sabbath. In Deuteronomy, God says nobody should be working on the Sabbath. Not the Isrealites, not the people working for them, not their animals, not the people who are just visiting or who have come from some other land to live among them. Everyone should be given this opportunity to rest and reconnect. 

Grace in the Text

Everyone.

It’s easy to get wound up about how many people are working on Sunday morning instead of sitting at church keeping Sabbath, but when we do that we forget how many people have to work on weekends because they can’t afford the day off. 

We forget that (according to the Economic Policy Institute), a family of four needs to make roughly $78,769 per year to live comfortably here, but the average yearly household income in Pittsburgh is about $58,000. That makes for alot of families that can’t afford a day off. 40 hours a week at minimum wage, with no days off at all, is only $15,000 before taxes. Sure, some of those households are households of one, and some are two working adults with no kids. But overall, it shows that people are having to work way to hard just to make ends meet. Even if the EPI is padding that number, that’s a huge discrepancy. When people who are working full time can’t afford to live comfortably, we have a problem. 

We forget that people who do shift work like Doctors and nurses and police and firefighters have to take their Sabbath on a different day because we still need medical and emergency support on weekends. 

I have known people who could never afford to retire. They literally worked full time, low paying jobs their entire lives until they were physically too sick to work any more. I’m sure you know or have known people in the same boat. 

These are Sabbath issues. When we are taking Sabbath, but there are others who can’t, Sabbath is not whole. When we pigeon-hole Sabbath to be one day that looks one particular way, we forget that there are people keeping Sabbath in other ways on other days so that we can be safe and cared for when we are taking our Sabbath. 

This is where the church gets to be creative, though. Instead of shaming or looking down on people who might not get to church very often because they can’t take a morning off on the weekend, we get to ask, “How can we help you rest?” 

Trouble in the World

Maybe that means dropping off a gallon of coffee at the police station on Sunday morning before church for our hard working officers. 

Maybe that means having a special service to recognize the medical personnel who keep us healthy and save our lives. And maybe that means streaming it live online so they can watch it from the nurses’ station they are filling. 

Maybe that means finding ways to help struggling families with groceries or school supplies or getting involved in local conversations about making sure all those who are working are making a living wage and are given appropriate time off to rest and recharge. Sometimes something as small as going to Target and buying school supplies for a family you know is having a tough time can make a world of difference for their peace of mind. 

Maybe it means getting together with some people and stocking the classroom of a teacher you know so they don’t have to stock it out of their own pocket. 

Grace in the World

Sure. Some people will still choose not to take a Sabbath even if they have the opportunity. There will always be workaholics. But I’ve met far more struggling parents working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet than I’ve met people who just really want to work 80 or more hours a week. 

Yes. Some people will choose to rest in places other than church. We have to trust that God will speak to them there because God is there too. Our job is not to judge why people are or are not taking Sabbath. Our job is to be a model of taking time to nurture our relationship with God, of seeking to be whole and healthy people, and of sharing God’s covenant promises with all. 

In order to be a vital and recognized part of our community, we have to care that God’s covenant promises are available to everyone. We have to work to live out those covenant promises both in our personal lives, and in the community. 

Prayer Prompt

Where are people in our community denied the opportunity for Sabbath? Where might we be able to offer rest to those who are having a hard time finding it? What does it mean to offer rest to people around us? Where are we good models of practicing Sabbath and where do we need to improve?

God who offers rest for the weary, show us how to be positive examples of living into the Sabbath commandment. Help us to see where others are being denied the opportunity for Sabbath and how we might offer them a bit of rest. Lead us into wholeness: body, mind, and spirit, so that we might live fully into your covenant with us. Amen

God, you spin the whirling planets

fill the seas and spread the plain,

mold the mountains, fashion blossoms,

Apostle’s Creed:

call forth sunshine, wind and rain.

We created in your image,

would a true reflection be

of your justice, grace and mercy

and the truth that makes us free.

You have called us to be faithful

in our life and ministry.

We respond in grateful worship

joined in one community.

when we blur your gracious image,

focus us and make us whole.

Healed and strengthened as your people,

we move onward toward your goal.

God, your word is still creating,

calling us to life made new.

Now reveal to us fresh vistas

where there’s work to dare and do.

Keep us clear of all distortion.

Polish us with loving care.

Thus, new creatures in your image,

We’ll proclaim Christ everywhere.

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers of the People

After each petition, the pastor will say, “Lord, in your mercy,” and the people respond, “Hear our prayer.”

Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who’ve sinned against us. Lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Sharing our tithes and offerings

Doxology (Song of Thanksgiving)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.Praise God all creatures here below. Praise God above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Abide with me: fast falls the eventide.

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide!

When others helpers fail and comforts flee,

Charge and Blessing

help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;

earth’s joys grow dim; it’s glories pass away;

change and decay, in all around I see.

O thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour;

what but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?

Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;

ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.

Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?

I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;

shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.

Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;

in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

May the peace of our Lord Christ go with you wherever he may send you.May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.May he bring you home rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you.May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

Amen