Keeping Sabbath
12/10/14 05:19
It seems that the people of God have struggled with how to live as free people for as long as we have had the taste of freedom. From the first moments after Moses led the people of Israel though the Red Sea waters, there were voices among them who advised turning back and returning to the land of slavery. Even when the young community was well into the desert, there were those who wanted to abandon the life of freedom and imitate the ways of their neighbors. And all of that is ancient history, but our people continue to struggle with the basics of the life of freedom, frequently choosing paths that enslave them. The slavery isn’t often in physical bonds, but rather in psychological bonds and mixed loyalties.
Just one of the ten commandments continues to be a challenge for many in modern society: “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the sevent day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work - you , your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.”
It seems pretty clear. Everyone should take a day off from work every week. The commandment suggests that all take the same day off from work each week. It has been quite a while since blue laws were common in the United States. These days we believe that we need to have all of the stores open every day. Many retail stores are open on holidays as well as every day during the week. Of course the owners of the stores would speak of the necessity of competition and they would point out that the employees who work on the weekends get a different day off each week. In fact, many contemporary establishments are dependent upon part-time workers, not because of the needs of the workers, but because of reduced costs when fewer benefits are paid.
And the majority of people would agree that there are certain essential services such as law enforcement, fire protection, and healthcare that need to be provided at all times.
But even when we do take a day away from work, we have trouble defining what are the appropriate activities for that day. For many of us, whose daily jobs involve more sitting and less physical labor, a day off can mean getting some exercise. Some of us undergo more physical exertion in our recreation than we do in our work. The very nature of work has changed in a world where we are less dependent upon physical labor and more dependent on a large array of services. I suppose that all of this can be seen as a series of excuses for not obeying the commandment, but our lives really are more complex than those of nomadic tribes wandering in the mid eastern deserts. By the time of Jesus, the people were already arguing about the nature of the Sabbath. Jesus’ critics accused him of breaking the Sabbath when he healed or gathered food for people.
In our complex and fast-paced world, people often don’t know how to relax. They rush from event to event, appointment to appointment, obligation to obligation. Often the activities that are labeled “recreation” are as strenuous and filled with the same dynamics as that that are called “work.” Yesterday, I went paddling, split wood, mowed my lawn, and did some other yard work. None of it was “work” per se, but I was more stiff and tired at the end of the day than I am when I spend a day at my office or visiting people in the nursing home and hospital. I find myself looking forward to a day off from time to time in order to catch up with physical exercise. It all seems a bit opposite of the lifestyle of a subsistence farmer.
Here is one thing: we all need to be reminded that we are not God. I know that sounds a bit silly on the surface, but the bottom line is that we often behave as if we have no need of God. We act like we can take care of everything all by ourselves. In my observance of the people in my community, I would say that the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me,” is the hardest for people.
It is too easy to make a higher priority of earning money, having a nice home, having lots of possessions, being respected by others, having position in the community - and the list goes on and on. Even when it is clearly pointed out to us that things like car loans and mortgages and seeking the approval of others can enslave, people choose to pursue those very things.
Like the people of Israel, we seem to flirt with slavery instead of choosing the path of freedom.
So today is the day that many of us have agreed upon to set aside as the Sabbath. Of course part of the setting aside means that we want to gather for worship, so some of us will lead worship - a task that involves a bit of work. And when we gather, our community will be far from complete. The average attendance in our congregation, like many others, is less than 30% of the membership. We rarely have an occasion where a majority of us gather for the same event. There will be members who are getting in a last weekend at the lake, and others who are traveling with children’s sports teams, and others who are getting in a weekend of shopping in a city.
And some will just sleep in because they are tired. If you haven’t gotten enough sleep, perhaps catching up is a way of observing the sabbath. I really don’t think it is as simple as saying that those who are in church are observing the sabbath and those who are not present are not.
It is a continuing struggle. And perhaps one of the good signs is that we are thinking about it and taking it seriously. God never demanded perfection from our people. But paying attention is a good idea.
Just one of the ten commandments continues to be a challenge for many in modern society: “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the sevent day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work - you , your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.”
It seems pretty clear. Everyone should take a day off from work every week. The commandment suggests that all take the same day off from work each week. It has been quite a while since blue laws were common in the United States. These days we believe that we need to have all of the stores open every day. Many retail stores are open on holidays as well as every day during the week. Of course the owners of the stores would speak of the necessity of competition and they would point out that the employees who work on the weekends get a different day off each week. In fact, many contemporary establishments are dependent upon part-time workers, not because of the needs of the workers, but because of reduced costs when fewer benefits are paid.
And the majority of people would agree that there are certain essential services such as law enforcement, fire protection, and healthcare that need to be provided at all times.
But even when we do take a day away from work, we have trouble defining what are the appropriate activities for that day. For many of us, whose daily jobs involve more sitting and less physical labor, a day off can mean getting some exercise. Some of us undergo more physical exertion in our recreation than we do in our work. The very nature of work has changed in a world where we are less dependent upon physical labor and more dependent on a large array of services. I suppose that all of this can be seen as a series of excuses for not obeying the commandment, but our lives really are more complex than those of nomadic tribes wandering in the mid eastern deserts. By the time of Jesus, the people were already arguing about the nature of the Sabbath. Jesus’ critics accused him of breaking the Sabbath when he healed or gathered food for people.
In our complex and fast-paced world, people often don’t know how to relax. They rush from event to event, appointment to appointment, obligation to obligation. Often the activities that are labeled “recreation” are as strenuous and filled with the same dynamics as that that are called “work.” Yesterday, I went paddling, split wood, mowed my lawn, and did some other yard work. None of it was “work” per se, but I was more stiff and tired at the end of the day than I am when I spend a day at my office or visiting people in the nursing home and hospital. I find myself looking forward to a day off from time to time in order to catch up with physical exercise. It all seems a bit opposite of the lifestyle of a subsistence farmer.
Here is one thing: we all need to be reminded that we are not God. I know that sounds a bit silly on the surface, but the bottom line is that we often behave as if we have no need of God. We act like we can take care of everything all by ourselves. In my observance of the people in my community, I would say that the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me,” is the hardest for people.
It is too easy to make a higher priority of earning money, having a nice home, having lots of possessions, being respected by others, having position in the community - and the list goes on and on. Even when it is clearly pointed out to us that things like car loans and mortgages and seeking the approval of others can enslave, people choose to pursue those very things.
Like the people of Israel, we seem to flirt with slavery instead of choosing the path of freedom.
So today is the day that many of us have agreed upon to set aside as the Sabbath. Of course part of the setting aside means that we want to gather for worship, so some of us will lead worship - a task that involves a bit of work. And when we gather, our community will be far from complete. The average attendance in our congregation, like many others, is less than 30% of the membership. We rarely have an occasion where a majority of us gather for the same event. There will be members who are getting in a last weekend at the lake, and others who are traveling with children’s sports teams, and others who are getting in a weekend of shopping in a city.
And some will just sleep in because they are tired. If you haven’t gotten enough sleep, perhaps catching up is a way of observing the sabbath. I really don’t think it is as simple as saying that those who are in church are observing the sabbath and those who are not present are not.
It is a continuing struggle. And perhaps one of the good signs is that we are thinking about it and taking it seriously. God never demanded perfection from our people. But paying attention is a good idea.