One of the places where Jesus runs into conflict with the
religious experts of his time is the observance of the Sabbath. For one thing, he heals on the Sabbath. It was acceptable to heal someone on the Sabbath
if it would save a life. In our day, it
would be acceptable to perform CPR on someone even though it is a great deal of
work, because the work is saving someone from death. But Jesus was healing people who were not at
death’s door, who suffered from chronic conditions that would still be there
the next day. He also allowed his
disciples to gather grain on the Sabbath when they were hungry. Facing criticism over these actions he
declares himself “the Lord of the Sabbath” but also makes another important
declaration, “The Sabbath was made for humanity and not humanity for the
Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)
In
thinking about Sabbath observance it is important to think about the origins of
the Sabbath. We can look at the
beginning of Genesis, where a day of rest is built into the order of
creation. “And on the seventh day God
finished the work that God had done, and God rested on the seventh day from all
the work that God had done. So God
blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the
work that God had done in creation.”(Genesis 2:2-3). We can look at the 10 Commandments where the
third commandment on the Sabbath is given as a reminder of Israel’s life of
slavery in Egypt. Everyone rests
(including animals, slaves, and foreigners) in honor of the freedom that God
had given Israel in the Passover story.
And yet
a common theme in most religions is that a practice that is given as a gift is
turned into a law. Over time, the
freedom which the Sabbath was supposed to celebrate was replaced with a sense
of obligation. The rest that the Sabbath
was supposed to offer was turned into duty.
To be
fair, the Sabbath was a practice that was also a sign of Jewish loyalty. Not every culture in the ancient world took a
weekly day of rest, especially a day of rest for servants and slaves and a day
free from commercial activity. The
wealthy might rest but only because they had people below them to do the
work. In Israel, everything and everyone,
as much as possible, was supposed to stop.
Doing so was a sign of loyalty toward God, honoring God’s work of
creation and salvation for Israel.
Jesus
does not renounce the Sabbath. Observing
the Sabbath is still a sign of loyalty and devotion. Instead, Jesus reestablishes the Sabbath as a
gift, a practice that is not only faithful but is also wise. Human beings need to rest for health and
well-being. Human beings need a pause
from all the noise and commotion of life, the buying and selling, the constant
call to do more and to obtain more. From
the beginning, God proclaims the value of simply being, resting in divine love.
For me,
the idea of Sabbath is a great comfort.
It implies that beneath all the noise, the confusion and the stress of
life, there is peace and rest inherent in the universe. God offers it, free for the taking. Jesus points to it. “Come to me, all
you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28) We are invited to step
into it. We honor God by stepping into
Sabbath.
Importantly,
we show loyalty to God’s vision by stepping into Sabbath. Turning toward the Sabbath means turning away
from other visions, visions that define our worth by productivity or
accumulation. The Sabbath is the good
news that we do not have to do more, be more or get more to be loved by
God. The peace of God is already here
and we are already worthy of it.
In
my next article, I will suggest that how one observes the Sabbath can have a
measure of freedom. Certainly the
tradition is a Sabbath day, but I believe that the way that Jesus frames the
Sabbath opens the possibility for other ways of observance: Sabbath hours and
Sabbath moments sprinkled throughout our days.
In our modern context, we might consider taking a Sabbath from screens
(for the sake of our sanity) or a Sabbath from constant availability (for the
sake of our humility). The Sabbath is
God’s gift to humanity. May we use that
gift to honor and rest in the One who is peace itself.
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