Both
our readings today mention the Sabbath. Some of you may remember in your
younger days that Sunday was a day of rest.
Shops
did not open
Sport
was not played
Homework
was not done
A
friend told me she wasn’t allowed to knit.
Isaiah
talks of the Sabbath being a delight, but not being able to do anything fun
doesn’t sound like a delight to me.
The
idea of Sabbath comes from two different parts of Scripture. In the story of
creation, in Genesis 1, God rested in the seventh day, so all creation has a
day of rest and renewal. The other place we get the idea of Sabbath is from the
story of the exodus. Here is part of the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy[i]:
Deuteronomy
5: 12- 15
“Observe
the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. For six
days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your
livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female
slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of
Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and
an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the
Sabbath day.”
The
idea of Sabbath is about rest and renewal, but also about liberation and
freedom from slavery.
Just
as theologians disagree on various issues today, so the rabbis had robust
conversations about what it meant to be faithful to God. Did tithing include
the parsley garnish on your plate?
Does
being born with a disability reflect on the sinfulness of your parents?
And
what does it mean to keep the Sabbath Holy?
Is
keeping the Sabbath holy mean that we only sing hymns and read the Bible on the
Sabbath?
Does
it mean we can read other books as long as they are religious in nature?
Maybe
we can visit family, or friends?
Some
orthodox Jews will not use any appliance that means work – which means
pedestrian lights work automatically, so that you don’t have to push the
button, because that would mean you did something to cause something to happen,
and that is work.
I
am reading a book called ‘Sabbath in the suburbs’[ii].
It is about a family’s experiment and experience of keeping Sabbath each week.
As a family of 5, with both parents in full time demanding jobs, they don’t
always manage it. As they are about to embark on their Sabbath experiment, the
author ponders what is work, what should we be ceasing from? With 3 small
children, just being involves some level of work.
What
is the work that we refrain from on the Sabbath?
Now
we come to the gospel reading, a woman bent over for 18 years, comes to the
temple, Jesus notices her, and heals her. While she rejoices and praises God, a
leader of the synagogue is horrified because Jesus broke the Sabbath law.
Let’s
not be too hard on the leader of the synagogue. The leader of the Synagogue
didn’t wake up each morning thinking: how can I make life difficult for people?
Both
Jesus and the leader of the synagogue are wanting to be faithful to God, to
uphold the law.
Today
our theological conversations revolve around different questions:
- What are the requirements for
baptism?
- Who can participate in Holy
Communion?
- What role can people in same
gender relationships have in the church?
But
I wonder if we looked at what it means to observe the Sabbath day and keep it
holy, that maybe some of those other questions would be less divisive.
What
does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy?
The
prophet Isaiah is writing to the people of Israel as they come back from exile.
They are being reminded that Sabbath-keeping
has an inherent link to justice. Remembering and focusing on God will, or should,
lead to right relationships with our neighbour. Mercy is not to be forsaken simply
because it’s the Sabbath.[iii]
A
paraphrase of part of the Isaiah reading:
Isaiah
58
The LORD says:
“If you abandon all forms of exploitation,
and avoid bad-mouthing others to gain an edge;
if you share what you have with those in need,
and respond to the real needs of suffering communities;
then you’ll find that the world will light up for you
and life will be one beautiful day after another.[iv]
Who are the exploited in our society?
The LORD says:
“If you abandon all forms of exploitation,
and avoid bad-mouthing others to gain an edge;
if you share what you have with those in need,
and respond to the real needs of suffering communities;
then you’ll find that the world will light up for you
and life will be one beautiful day after another.[iv]
Who are the exploited in our society?
Who
are the people who get bad-mouthed?
In
what ways do we share with those in need?
This
week we have seen more news of the living conditions of people in detention
centres on Nauru and Manus Island. There have been more allegations about the
treatment of young people in juvenile detention centres, especially indigenous
young people. And I am struck by the different repose to this news and the
closure of greyhound racing in response to the report on cruelty by some people
involved in racing dogs.
Sometimes
I wish that being a Christian was simple. If God would just put a list on my
fridge with what to do each day that would make my life a whole lot
easier.
We
live in a world that is bent out of shape,
We
live in a world where people live in fear
Where
there is violence and oppression
Where
hatred is spread
Where
greed and selfishness masquerades as good.
We
live in a world that needs healing
And
we are people who need healing, because as much as the world is bent out of
shape, so are our lives.
We
carry loads that bend us out of shape:
Shame
Guilt
Anger
Fear
Frustration
Despair
Sabbath
allows us to breath,
to put down our load for a while,
to stretch our sore muscles.
Sabbath
is about rest and renewal and liberation.
For
me, it means being aware of God in my life and in the world around me
It
means being less caught up in my own ‘stuff’ , how messy the house is, how long
the to-do list is, how many boxes we still haven’t unpacked …….
And
being more aware of the rhythm of grace, of breathing, of joy. And that changes
not just that time, but changes my focus during the rest of the week.
What
does it mean to you to keep the Sabbath holy?
A
day of rest
Time
enjoying Gods good creation?
Renewal
and refreshment for another week?
Or
maybe you can’t imagine having a Sabbath
What does it mean to
you to keep the Sabbath holy?
