What are the 10 commandments — Do you remember them?
- No other Gods
- Not take name of God in vain
- Remember sabbath
- Honor parents
- Don’t kill
- Don’t steal
- Don’t be unfaithful
- Don’t slander/gossip/trash talk
- Don’t covet
- Really…don’t covet
They are meant to order a good life….community that trusts God…loves God…doesn’t have people who lord over others….where people respect parents and elders….protect life and property….honor promises and speak well of others…where people are content, not always grasping for more. And that’s the place we want to live, isn’t it? That’s where we want our children to be raised. We know in our bones that this is good. Because we’ve seen how disrespect poisons relationships…and how broken promises break down trust. And we understand that of course it is wrong to take what is not ours and it is wrong to hurt another person…whether it is with our fists or our words. And we have all seen how thoroughly greed and lust for power corrupts everything. We know that these basic commandments are simply the foundations of a healthy and peaceful community.
But just as important to our life together….just as important to our health and peace…is our Sabbath taking.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Do we get that in our bones?
I read all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books as a girl. I remember being shocked by her parent’s interpretation of keeping Sabbath. No toys. No playing. No fun at all. Just sitting still in a chair in good clothing and reading the Bible….for hours on end. Ugh. It sounded like torture to me.
And honestly, I don’t think that’s the kind of Sabbath-keeping that makes life together good. I know I definitely don’t want to “keep Sabbath” like they did in those days.
But still….this is a commandment. Sabbath isn’t just a nice idea in theory….it’s critical to our life together….it’s critical to being a full human being….to being a child of God.
Stopping work…is important. Setting aside our lists and ignoring our emails is important. Having a day in our week where we quit trying to accomplish things, and spend time enjoying them….is important. Having a day in our week where we trust that the world will survive without our management and input….is important. Spending a day in love with God and appreciating the people around us and reveling in the beauty of the earth…is important.
But honestly…how many of you struggle to be good Sabbath keepers? Some of us remember the “good old days” when the world kept Sabbath for us. The “blue laws” that meant stores and businesses had to be closed on Sundays. Of course we didn’t go to work, shop, or run errands on Sunday. Nothing was open. But now Sunday looks much like any other day in our culture. We can get all sorts of things done and crossed off our list on Sunday. No, the culture is no help to us. So now….we have to figure our Sabbath ourselves, just like folks did for generations and generations before us. We have to discipline ourselves to obey a commandment.
We have to discipline ourselves to not let our Sabbath day be like every other day. But how do we do that? What if we do have to work on Sunday? (Asking for a friend…)
But,is Sabbath even on Sunday? Jesus observed Sabbath as all Jews did…from sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday. It was the early church that changed it to Sunday when it became the church of the Roman Empire. They said it was because Jesus rose on the first day of the week, after the Sabbath….that was why they would observe Sabbath on Sunday. In truth, it was just another compromise with the Roman culture around them…Sunday was already a special day for them….so it was easier to observe Sabbath that day.
The early church, you see, decided that observing the Sabbath wasn’t about a particular day of the week….but rather, it was about setting aside a day in the week….if not Saturday…then Sunday….if not Sunday….maybe Friday…or whatever day works in your culture. But a day that wouldn’t be like the rest…a day to stop….to rest…to remember…to reconnect.
A day for the other three “R’s”. Not reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmatic…. B ut rest, remember, and reconnect.
Sabbath is about resting. God orders us to rest. Burned out people….workaholics….people who go, go, go all the time are not healthy. They think they matter entirely too much. They think the world cannot survive without them. They are always trying to achieve more…they are always grasping….always trying to prove something. Friends…that kind of thinking is warped. Unhealthy. Nobody is indispensable. Sabbath reminds us that the world goes on without us. We can take a day off. God is God and we are not. We can unplug the news and turn off our phones and ignore the emails. All of us can….for 24 hours a week.
There is a reason Sabbath started at sundown Friday evening and went to sundown Saturday evening….not from morning to night. it meant even mothers got a day off. Isn’t that awesome? Think about it…they cooked the Sabbath dinner…but from the time they started the meal together…their work stopped,too. They were in Sabbath time. Friday night Sabbath dinners were about relaxed conversations around a candlelit table with friends and family. And Saturday was leftover day. Cold cereal. Sandwiches. No laundry to do. No chores. Everybody got to rest. Their servants…their employees…even their animals. Yes, keeping Sabbath is about rest — on the seventh day God rested from all the work God had done.
But it also is about remembering. When we observe the Sabbath, we stop doing the things that we do every day…the work…the routines…we stop acquiring things and stop producing things…..and take a rest. So we can remember what really matters. So we can remember who we are….and WHOSE we are.
The thing about life being so hectic….is we lose the point of it all. We forget what it’s all about. When everything is a routine…the days slip by….the years slip by. And we forget to notice…that it’s beautiful. Life is beautiful. You are beautiful The person next to you is beautiful. Holy. God is all around you and within you…and God is big enough and good enough to be trusted. With all of this. With my life With our community…our world….our children…with the cosmos. I forget sometimes. And I worry and I despair…that I’m not good enough…that I’m not doing enough… that everything is going to fall apart. Sabbath is when we remember God’s still God…and we’re still not. We remember that the one who dies with the most toys definitely does not win. We remember that life isn’t about stuff…it isn’t about titles or accomplishments …. it’s about love. And we remember that we don’t do life alone….we’re all connected. We all need each other. It’s not just about me. We remember that the same spirit of God …the same body of Christ is in me that is in you….and we belong to each other. Yes, taking a Sabbath day is about resting. Remembering…and it’s also about reconnecting.
Reconnecting with God…in whom we live and move and have our being. We come here to worship — to pray, to sing, to share in communion…to be reconnected to the one who is our source. Who made us. Who loved us into existence. Who knows us better than we know ourselves. We come to let the water, river, spirit, grace sweep over us… sculpt us. To be formed anew into God’s image…That is part of Sabbath-keeping. Connecting with God. But Sabbath is also connecting with others. Putting down phones and putting away computers — and talking, walking, playing, laughing, singing — sharing meals and sharing time — with the people in our lives. That is Sabbath keeping as well. Sabbath is a gift to us, you see…a gift of time God gives us….and we give to one another.
And we are commanded to do it….to receive that gift….to share that gift with others…not just once in a while or when we feel like it or when it’s convenient….but regularly….weekly. Because that’s what makes life healthy and good. That’s what makes for peace in our lives and peace in our world. Keeping Sabbath is not just about going to church….it is about a way of ordering our life …or maybe ordering out heads. Because when we rest…remember…and reconnect…we finally get live as the children of God we truly are. We abide in God…and in God’s love.
May we all learn to keep Sabbath well in our own ways. To receive it as gift and rejoice in its beauty. Amen.
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