Loving God, you initiated the Sabbath as a gift, yet we manage to make it into a burden.  Remind us this day that we belong to you, just as this day belongs to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    The original gift of the Sabbath was rest.  Way back in Genesis we read that God rested on the seventh day, and “God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that [God] had done in creation” (Gen. 2:3).  Then, as time went on, various details were added as to what it actually means to “remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8).

    First and foremost, the people were to do no work on the Sabbath.  This applied not only to the Jewish people but to their children, and to any slaves they might have, and to their livestock, and even to any foreigners who were living among them (Ex. 20:10).  And so, every single person who was living in the land was to have a day of rest.

    Then, as time went on, there were more merchants who were buying and selling goods, and even traveling sales people who would come to town.  The people were told to avoid “accumulation” on the Sabbath.  In other words, there was to be no buying or selling or harvesting.  They were not to be purchasing or acquiring anything on the Sabbath, and nobody was to make any profit on the Sabbath.

    By the time Jesus came along, the Pharisees had done a lot of work identifying what was lawful on the Sabbath and what was not.  Plucking heads of grain (which is what the disciples were doing) was defined as harvesting, and thus it was not allowed.  In the same way, healing somebody was defined as work, and thus was considered inappropriate on the Sabbath.

    Now before we brand Jesus as a radical Sabbath breaker, we need to keep in mind that he lived as an observant Jew.  He attended synagogue on the Sabbath.  He knew the commandments inside and out and lived by them.  But sometimes he appeared to break the rules in order to teach the people what God is really all about.

    When it comes to the disciples plucking the heads of grain on the Sabbath, we have to assume that they were really hungry.  It’s not a very appetizing thing to eat, and obviously nobody had prepared any food ahead of time.  And so, rather than having the disciples fainting along the way, Jesus allows it.  He says that it is an exception to the rules just like when David and his companions ate the bread that only the priests were supposed to eat (1 Sam. 21:1-6).  God is never in favour of people going hungry, and so allowing them to eat is more important than the rules.

    In the same way, Jesus is teaching the people about the Sabbath when he dares to heal a man in the synagogue.  He is teaching them that the Sabbath belongs to God, and that it is okay to do good or to save life on the Sabbath.  With this teaching and with his assertion that he is Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus lays the foundation for the early church, in which both Jews and Gentiles will wonder which of the Laws still apply.  Of course, you may be wondering how any of this applies to us, as well!  Certainly, once again things changed over time.

    For a while, some of the early Christians continued to go to the synagogue.  However, it didn’t take long for Christians to begin gathering for worship on Sundays, which is the first day of the week and the day of resurrection.  In fact, if you visit the Holy Land you will find that the Muslim shops are closed on Fridays, the Jewish shops are closed on Saturdays, and the Christian shops are closed on Sundays.  Ultimately, which day you celebrate as the Sabbath is less important than how you observe it.

    Obviously, it has become a lot more complicated in today’s world to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.  Part of this is the fact that a lot of people work on Sundays.  However, keep in mind that both Jews and Muslims have been dealing with that reality for years and have found ways to keep the Sabbath.  Unfortunately, the reality that many people deal with is working several jobs and working seven days a week.  It’s not healthy, and it leaves little room for God, but some have little choice in the matter.

    However, where we do have a choice, it is important to observe the Sabbath - not only because God commands it, but because we need one.  In most cases, this means making some choices in our lives about what is most important.  Now, before we start lamenting that Sundays just aren’t like they used to be, it is important to keep in mind what the Sabbath is all about.

    It is a day of rest, which means a break from our normal work.  It is a day that is holy, which means that it belongs to God, and not to us, or to our employer, or to a system, or to a multinational corporation, or even to our families.  It is a day that reminds us that Jesus is Lord, and a day where it is okay to do good.

    Any rules or practices that we might come up with are most helpful if they deepen our relationship with God.  And so, sleeping in and then lying on the couch all day kind of misses the point.  Certainly, we need rest to keep us healthy, but we also need time for worship and prayer and study and supporting one another in our faith.  The Sabbath is about spiritual health, as well as mental and physical health.

    For some people - pastors included - Sunday doesn’t necessarily work as the Sabbath day.  Sometimes we need to choose another day, and observe it as our Sabbath.  However, then the challenge becomes how to incorporate worship and prayer into that day.

    In the end, regardless of our situation, we need at least one day that belongs to God and not to everybody and everything else.  Or, to rephrase that a little bit - actually, every day belongs to God and all of us belong to God.  However, the Sabbath is a day that reminds us that Jesus is Lord and that we belong to God and that it is entirely acceptable to do good.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Epiphany 4 (NL 3)                                Luke 6:1-16
January 29, 2017
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2017 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved