2022 08 21 Sermon

Sabbath Renewal

Pentecost 11 C

Rev. Karl-John N. Stone

Luke 13:10-17; Isaiah 58:9b-14

Last Sunday in my sermon I told the story of hiking up Pikes Peak in Colorado with the Boys Scouts a couple of weeks ago, and how I and another Scout, Gus, both struggled with the thin air as we slowly hiked six miles from the base of the mountain beginning at 6,000 feet elevation to our campsite at 10,000 feet, then the next day six more miles from 10,000 feet up to the summit at 14,115 feet above sea level, and finally back down again. The way we made it up to the top was by finding unity of purpose in encouraging one another. “OK, Gus” I’d say, “see that big rock up ahead? Let’s hike there and then we can stop and rest.” Then Gus would say, “OK, Karl-John, see that bend in the trail over there? Let’s make it there, and then we can stop and rest.”

Just as important as the encouragement and the slow but steady hiking, was the ability to stop and rest. If we didn’t take “stop and rest” breaks—which were just long enough to let our bodies recover a bit, but not too long so that we would never make it—we finally made it to the summit!

Stop and rest. Did you know that there is a word in the Bible that means exactly that? The word is “Sabbath”. Sabbath means “Stop and rest”. This is even one of the 10 Commandments: “Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Moses even devotes more explanation to this Commandment than to the others, maybe because the others are more self-explanatory as to why we should follow them, or maybe because our human nature has a harder time with this Commandment. The first reason Moses gives for Sabbath is that “on the seventh day God rested.” If it’s good enough for God to take a day of rest, then it’s good enough for us. The second reason for Sabbath is: “remember when you were slaves in Egypt.” For 400 years the Hebrew people never got a day of rest. Only slaves work 7 days a week. Free people stop and rest one day a week.

As Jesus and the leader of the synagogue meet on a Sabbath day (as related in today’s gospel), they are both in complete agreement about the necessity and importance of stopping to rest on the Sabbath. Where they disagree is on how to interpret this Commandment. Jesus says that it is OK to do the work of healing a crippled woman on the Sabbath, and the synagogue leader says it’s not OK.

I’d like to look at the leader of the synagogue with a sympathetic lens for a moment. Look at his position: There are 6 out of 7 days in the week for work to be done, and only 1 out of 7 days for rest. Once you start doing one kind of work on a Sabbath day, no matter how beneficial, before you know it you’ll find another kind of beneficial work to do. One thing will lead to another, and pretty soon you are no longer taking a Sabbath day, and you are no longer being renewed, refreshed, and restored. It’s like you’re back to being a slave in Egypt. The crippled back that this poor woman suffered from was not life-threatening. After all, she had lived with it for 18 years already. She could make it through one more day and be healed when it wasn’t a Sabbath day. The synagogue leader was not against her being healed. He was just focused on the “nuts and bolts” of how to follow the Sabbath, and he believed in his position because it worked.

Now let’s shift our focus to Jesus. His concern is less the “nuts and bolts” of how to observe a Sabbath day—and more on what the effect of taking a Sabbath should be. The point of observing the Sabbath is to be renewed, refreshed, and restored. The point is to be liberated from your burdens; from the things that weigh you down; hopefully liberated for a lifetime, but even if it’s only being liberated for a day, hey that’s something. And in the liberation of a Sabbath we get to have a little taste of heaven, right here in our everyday lives. From that perspective, Jesus had to heal this woman, right on the spot. In healing her and making her able to stand up straight, Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the Sabbath for her. She was renewed, refreshed, restored.

When you think about it, she had just spent 18 years with never being able to fully stop and rest on the Sabbath. With her physical ailment, she would have to work hard just to walk, and to twist her head to see the sky, the sun, the clouds, the stars, the mountains, or even people’s faces. As Jesus points out, the religious law already allowed anyone to do the work of untying their animal and leading it to water on the Sabbath. Even animals need to be renewed and refreshed on the Sabbath. How much more so did a “daughter of Abraham”, who had been burdened for 18 years, deserve to finally enjoy her own renewal and restoration, and not have to wait even one more day? When she finally felt the Sabbath become real in her life, she praised God!

When we examine the interpretations of the synagogue leader, and Jesus, about the Sabbath I think we can see that what works in general might not work in all cases. This is a good word for us to hear today. Figuring out how to observe a Sabbath is a challenging puzzle for us, just as it was in Jesus’ own time, but it’s probably even harder to figure out today.

So many of us feel the demands on our time. When someone asks how you are doing, you say, “busy”. We wish for more hours in the day to accomplish everything. We are told in ways subtle or explicit that your worth depends on your busyness, your productivity, the amount of things you do. To get it all done, one third of American adults sleep less than six hours per day, while most need more like 7 to 9 hours. Sleep shortage can lead to issues with concentration, mood, and memory, as well as getting into accidents, conflict with others, health conditions, or even dementia. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/almost-one-third-americans-sleep-fewer-six-hours-night-180971116/

We’re tired! God knows we need Sabbath time to stop and rest for our own well-being. And even more so, we need Sabbath time to become more aware of the presence of God in our lives, and the presence of God in each moment, so that we can be filled with God’s love, grace, forgiveness, and strength. Sabbath is good for the body, mind, and soul.

If you can devote a full 24 hours to it that’s great! That’s the goal. But I’m guessing that for most of us, trying to start with 24 uninterrupted hours would be like trying to hike up a 14,000 foot mountain when you’ve only ever walked on the beach at sea level. So start small, and be intentional. Say, “God, I need you to help me set aside this one hour (or even one minute) on such-and-such-a-day each week to simply stop and rest.” Maybe you gradually increase the amount of time. Surrender to God in trust for that time; think on a bible verse that inspires you; realize that God will keep the world spinning regardless of what you do or don’t do. Focus on the purpose of Sabbath, which is to be refreshed, renewed, and restored. Realize that what works in general might not work in all cases. So experiment until you find the kind of Sabbath rest that brings you joy and renewal.

Above all, in your Sabbath rest, simply be who God created you to be, and praise God for it. Know that God is God; that God is with you; and Christ died and rose again to free you from your burdens, and to give you a taste of heaven in daily life, as we await the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Amen.