4 . The Way of Sabbath
It’s only when we slow down our lives that we can catch up with God.
N. T. Wright
READ
Luke 6:1-15 and Exodus 23:10-12
Luke chapter six verses one to fifteen and Exodus chapter twenty three verses ten to twelve.
CONSIDER
Why might the religious leaders take issue with Jesus’ rule breaking? What do you think is agitating them so much? What objections arise in your heart when you consider taking a deliberate period of rest once a week?
LIVE
Ask yourself: “what is it that makes a day deeply refreshing for me?”
Design an ‘ideal day’
Prepare: take the steps needed to prepare for it. Rest for 24hrs. Repeat 6 days later.
The Way of Sabbath
Jesus appears to be playing fast and loose with important rules and traditions. After centuries of social turmoil and occupation by foreign armies, the pastoral leaders of the nation believe that strict observe of the Sabbath is essential for the health and security of their society; Jesus sees things differently.
In Mark 2:27 he says to them: people were not made for the Sabbath, rather the Sabbath was made for people. The principle of taking a 24hr period of enforced rest, recuperation and refreshment is given to us as gift meant to do us good.
In the Old Testament there are three main reasons for why the Sabbath is insisted upon: 1. Because God rested after making the world. 2. Because Israel were (and are no longer) slaves. 3. So the land would have time to heal from being farmed.
Jesus came declaring that not only was he ‘lord of the Sabbath’ (in charge of it) but also that we didn’t need to wait seven days for it each week. Instead he said:
come to me all you who are tired and heavy laden and I will give you rest.
He is our soul’s rest and satisfaction and he is available to us every day. We’re therefore invited as a matter of principle and wisdom, not obligation, to take one day off out of every seven for restoration, renewal, revitalisation and recreation. This is for our good and our enjoyment, for our instruction and education. We’re invited to rest in and bask in the goodness of God’s sovereign and stable rule over all.
And in a society like ours we need to recover the Sabbath more than ever.
Picture reading an eighty-five page newspaper. In 1986 if you added up all the information being blasted at the average person – TV, radio, reading – it amounted to forty newspapers-worth of information every day. By 2007, researchers found that it had risen to the equivalent of 174 newspapers per day!
You and I are being bombarded by stimuli. All. The. Time. Take a rest!