Sermon Notes June 3, 2018 Sabbath Laws Brian Walton

Transcription

1 1 Sermon Notes June 3, 2018 Sabbath Laws Brian Walton Oh, that generations of Christians would have read this morning s scripture and understood it. Let s revisit it for a moment. Jesus and his friends are wandering near a field of wheat when one of them grabs a head of wheat, rolls it in his hands and eats it. It is a practice familiar to almost every person who has lived in rural Saskatchewan. Yet, into this scene, appear the Pharisees, those religious leaders who shape and enforce the Jewish religious laws. Stop they shout, don t you know that this is the Sabbath and work is forbidden on the Sabbath. You are forgiven if you are wondering what is the work that the disciples are being accused of? The Pharisees know with there eye for detail they conclude that rubbing this head of wheat is akin to threshing. We might have expected Jesus to laugh at this accusation but, instead, he uses it as a teaching moment. He explains his most fundamental understanding about Jewish law namely that God did not give the law to test people s obedience, rather God gave the law to enhance people s lives. Jesus puts it this way, Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath. In the very next passage the Biblical story-teller raises the stakes. In this instance a man approaches Jesus with a deformed hand. In a culture where ordinary life required much effort a useless hand was a terrible burden. Jesus, having empathy, reaches out to the man with a healing touch. Stop shout the Pharisees, don t you know that this is the Sabbath and work (even healing work) is forbidden on the Sabbath. This time Jesus is not amused. The story teller continues, Jesus looked around at

2 2 them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, Stretch out your hand and it was healed. A scholar writing about this passage states: I consider this one of the key texts in all of the gospels Jesus operating principle is that all of the (religious) laws were created for humanity, and not the other way around. Oh, that generations of Christians would have read this morning s scripture and understood it. It would have prevented the ostracizing of those who slept in on Sunday morning or planted their crops on the Sabbath. It would have prevented the banishing of women who failed to cover their heads in church. It would have prevented the shunning of those who conceived outside of marriage. It would have prevented generations of oppression against the LGBTQ community. Not so long ago, rigorous Christians urged their governments to enact laws banning sporting events, Sunday shopping and many other public and private activities that were understood to constitute work on the Sabbath. It appears that the Pharisaic mindset prevailed within Christianity for generations. I am tempted to utter a prayer of thanksgiving to modern secular authorities who have freed us to work, to shop, to watch football and to mow the lawn on Sunday. I say I am tempted to be thankful, but in fact freedom from Sabbath observance misses the point of Jesus comment. He didn t say that observing the sabbath was bad, he simply said that, Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath. That is, the Sabbath should not be understood as God s demand, as God s rule or regulation; but rather as God s gift and opportunity. If we think about the

3 3 6th commandment, Thou shalt not kill, we quickly realize that this law is not so much about pleasing God, as it is about structuring a society with personal security and peaceful community. God blessed us with laws and commandments as gifts and we ignore them such as the commandment - Thou shalt not kill at our peril. Hence, in this morning s scripture, Jesus is saying more than don t be limited by the Sabbath, rather he is suggesting that we embrace Sabbath creatively. What might that mean? This question formed one of the first discussions in our current spiritual conversations group. Together we recognized with relief that the rigid Sabbath rules of church and state had come to an end; but, we also recognized that most of us are challenged to incorporate Sabbath or holy rest into our lives. Statistics suggest that working people are working more hours than they did three decades ago. We know from our own lives or by watching the lives of our children that work is relentless and the domestic chores of shopping, cleaning, laundry, child care and, sometimes parent-care, consumes much free time. I have observed that cell phones keep my children working day and night. My son is responding to calls from the work site at all hours of the day; my son-inlaw is monitoring supplies of oil throughout the weekend and on his holidays. Those showing up to the weekly Directors meeting in the health region tomorrow are expected to have a report of the weekend s events ready at 8 AM. Statistics verify that working people are working more. Anecdotes from retired people frequently include the comment, I m so busy in retirement, I don t know when I had time to work. We seem to forget that even God needed to rest after six days.

4 4 As the Spiritual Conversation group discovered in their exploration of Sabbath, God s intention was not simply that we get a break but that we find ways to rest in God s presence. Sabbath time is not simply lounging on the couch or sitting on the beach as important as those things might be. Sabbath is not so much about recreation as it is about re-creation. What does it mean to rest in God? Allow me to suggest that Sabbath time invites us into an intentional relationship with the God who is revealed in nature, with one another and within oneself. I love being at the lake. I love working in the flower beds; I love the puttering involved in maintaining the place; I love organizing excursions upon the water. Yet, this enjoyable busyness is not the same as resting in God. When I actually stop and absorb the world of the lake it teaches me something about life. I see the life of the trees the ones that live long and reach for the sky; the young ones who, for whatever reason don t recover from the winter snow; and the resilience of the majority that have survived the legion of leaf-eating caterpillars in recent years. Trees teach me about life some of us are gifted with long lives; some of us gifted with resilience in the face of hardship; and some of us, unexplainably, have life cut short. In all of it we are asked to raise our limbs heavenward and receive the gifts of sun and rain alike. When I wander down to the dock and see my old boat lift sprouting new areas of rust I am reminded of the Psalm writers words: Do not store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy; but store up treasures in heaven for where your treasure is, there your heart will be. God save me from focusing on things when my heart yearns for relationship with you.

5 5 Sabbath time invites me into deep friendships. I am a natural introvert and enjoy the quiet of my own company but of course I also crave good friendships. I experience Sabbath when an unplanned conversation suddenly deepens and I am speaking with my friend about a shared memory, a present worry or what gives life meaning. In those Sabbath moments God draws near to me in the face of my friend. Sometimes, Sabbath is experienced in the quiet of sitting side by side, with no words passing between us. I am reminded that God is like this friend, that God is this friend, whose love is always at my side. Finally, Sabbath time arises when I rest in the God who dwells deep in my soul. In the Spiritual Conversation s group, we were encouraged to think about what it means to take a sabbath from worry. This requires a quiet mind not easy amidst thoughts of tomorrow s tasks or self-defeating messages from the past. Perhaps that is why prayer is a sabbath activity a prayer of thanksgiving helps me to look through a different window where the small accomplishments of my life or the gifts of friendship are noticed. When I learn to let go of regrets, and see signs that I am lovable, I can rest in the life that God has given me. I am not perfect but if I live as fully as possible in this day I will know the joy of living in the moment and despite our best made plans this moment is the only one we are assured of. Sabbath is made for humankind but we need to stop long enough to let the blessings of Sabbath nurture us. Arbitrary rules banning store openings may in fact distract us from the true Sabbath moments by making us think that they need to happen on Sunday. If we pay attention, God is always offering us Sabbath moments. Stop in your garden, or in the park and see what God is teaching you. Savour that moment when your friend

6 6 deeply listens as you share coffee together. Inhale the morning and affirm that you will step into this day with your best self. The Sabbath is made for us, and God waits to meet us there. Amen.