Sabbath-Keeping Through Worship Reorients Us
17th March 2024
Genesis 2:1-3
What does today’s (short) reading tell us about Sabbath?
It’s the story of creation, what God does ‘in the beginning’. And it is framed in terms of seven days, with God’s work of creation concluding at the end of the sixth day.
And what does God do (this is the important part) on the seventh day?
God rested.
This story of creation is the context for understanding the practice of Sabbath.
The link between the story and the practice is told again when God gives the Ten Commandments
9For six days you shall labour and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—…11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20:9-11)
God rested on the seventh day.
Not because God is tired, so why…?
God rested from all that had been made, to enjoy it.
“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Gen 1:31)
On the Seventh day in the creation story God rests;
God is satisfied, and God delights.
Rest has meaning at a deeper level of who we are,
and what we are about.
Our practice of Sabbath is linked to a big story.
Our practice of Sabbath tells us this story – reminding us of who we are (and Whose we are).
Our practice of Sabbath honours the image of the divine in us (the One who rests and is satisfied and delights on the Seventh day)
Our practice of Sabbath reminds us that we are not defined by our work.
If we understand Sabbath rest as having meaning at a deep level of who we are, and what we are about,
then physical work isn’t necessarily as big a problem for us as is the constant inner murmur.
You know this ‘constant inner murmur’, right…?
The persistent nagging anxiety we have to justify ourselves to others; to make ourselves feel important.
Rest from this can’t be superficial – we can’t escape the ‘constant inner murmur’ by going away for the weekend – it will remain with us.
We need proper rest.
It’s just like our sleep.
If you had bursts of sleep for just one hour, it wouldn’t matter if you had eight in a row – you’d be exhausted.
We know we need the REM sleep, the proper deep sleep, in order to be rested.
At the deep level of meaning about who we are, and what we are about, the Good News is that Jesus offers us this rest:
“28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you …rest.
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’” (Matt 11:28-30)
What Jesus says to us is that we will only get proper get rest when we make Him the meaning of our life.
Being, not just doing.
Chariots of Fire is a classic film (with classic music).
It’s about the true story of two British runners competing at the 1924 Olympic games.
The runner Harold Abrahams needs the 10 seconds of glory to prove he is ‘someone’.
The other runner, Eric Liddell, is a passionate Presbyterian (is there any other sort?)
and when he learns that the event for his 100 metre race will be on a Sunday, he refuses to run the race on the Sabbath.
It’s not because he’s legalistic, but because of his confidence in who he is: a child of God.
The irony is that the other runner (Harold Abrahams) who goes on to win gold finds it’s not enough.
His ‘constant inner murmur’ is not satisfied.
What this says to me is something crucial about practicing Sabbath (which may not be obvious at first):
Our external Sabbath practices need to be matched by our internal practices.
“It doesn’t matter to me how many sales I make, how many customers I have, how much money I make - what matters is YOU Lord: You are Lord of my life.”
And so, I believe that the key to practicing Sabbath is worship.
This is both an external and internal activity, where we enter the story of our being
and re-member who (whose) we are,
and what we are about.
The ‘constant inner murmur’ is addressed by the One who promises “Come to me… and I will give you rest.”
The only One whose opinion of you matters, looks at you now and say “It is good”.
And so, in worship, we are able to reorient ourselves again, enter the story of our being, as we declare “You are Lord.”
So, how do we actually do it? (focusing on the practical)
As well as worship, I’d suggest finding a balance of external Sabbath practices:
1. avocational (active, but not what you normally do e.g. fishing, gardening)
2. contemplative
3. inactive.