Sabbath Keeping

During my elementary school years, I remember having challenges at Sunday School to memorize different parts of the Bible. It was a challenge I gladly accepted because I was fairly good at memorizing, and, for each task completed, we received a different colored star on a chart. That was a good motivation for me.

One of the Biblical scriptures we had to memorize was the Ten Commandments. Back then, and now, I have always been struck with the attention given to the keeping of the Sabbath. Four verses are needed to complete this commandment, so I have always felt that God feels there is importance here for us to understand the day of rest.

Sabbath keeping is life-giving. God calls to us, in every moment, for every moment, with love, strength and peace. “Remember I am with you. Remember I have always been with you. Remember I will always be with you. Do not forget who you are; you are mine. Always. Forever.”

It was so very long ago when God gave the commandments to Moses and yet they still help us to live in community and proclaim the fullness of the realm of God. In the scriptures for today’s column, Jesus is seen as the Lord of the Sabbath.” Jesus acted better than many of the religious leaders of that time. He allowed his followers to eat on the Sabbath and defended them when the religious leaders got agitated. He told us that Sabbath keeping is about our relationships with God and with each other through which God through the Holy Spirit continues to build strength and growth in those relationships.

I don’t see Sabbath keeping just about Sunday worship. It is more like the gift of life that is at work within us daily. It’s remembering what God has done in our lives and what God has promised yet to do. Sabbath keeping is being able to boldly step into the extraordinary power from Christ. It’s about keeping and sharing his love. Although it is true that each and every day the world sends us challenges, we can continue to celebrate what the Holy Spirit has done for us and will continue to do.

I have always looked at the fourth commandment as a benefit, the weaving of periods of restorative rest into the rhythm of our lives. Perhaps it is a time to just stop and appreciate the beautiful creation we get to live in, the things we have, the people God has placed in our paths. It is designed as a time of gratitude and rejoicing because we badly need that in our lives.

Holy can sometimes seem sedate, but it can also be the celebration of life. Celebration has a communal connotation to it. This commandment tells us to honor the Sabbath with our families. To let your workers have the day off. To even give the animals a break.

Jesus reminds us that the Sabbath was made for human beings. It gives us a chance to dream and align our dreams with God’s. We can risk bringing ideas into being that have never happened before. We can take time to integrate faith into all that we do.

Just as Jesus healed the man with the withered hand in our scripture reading, Sabbath keeping is a time to look for what is withered within us. Sabbath keeping is for life—abundant, loving, spirit-filled. It is meant to soften our hearts and restore our relationships.

We can all brainstorm dreams of ways that we can keep the Sabbath. Perhaps there are new dimensions of prayer, new hours for personal Bible study, or for deeds of mercy.

Remember that the Sabbath is a gift from God for the benefit of all humanity. In keeping the Sabbath we are provided a rest and a renewal; a rest in Christ, the ultimate rest in Jesus, who fulfills the true meaning of the Sabbath.

May we honor God with our rest and worship, keeping our focus on the reality of our salvation through our Savior and Lord.