A few Sunday’s ago I thought I would turn over a new leaf and purposely take my Sunday afternoons off from work. Call it guilt from a Sunday sermon a couple weeks further back or yielding to my wife’s constant commentary wishing to spend more time with the kids and grandkids. Fate had other plans for that planned lazy summer afternoon. DeAnn left for the kid’s house I was to follow. Entering the bathroom, I noticed water on the floor, a quick examination of the situation told me I would be spending the afternoon solving a plumbing issue at the sink. The closest open hardware store with the right parts, an hour away. Tearing apart, driving to get parts, and returning, with a detour for a fresh cup of coffee, and reassembling the sink took the whole afternoon.
I have spent much of my life in jobs or careers working at least some Sundays. Some Sundays I was required to work, other times I worked Sundays so others could attend church and have the day of rest. Today I work on Sundays with house projects, yard maintenance, and many other of those “can’t get done in the week” chores. I have had plumbing issues arise on Sunday afternoons before and was thankful for a hardware store that was open. Thankful others were working. I have family members and friends that served as soldiers, police officers, or nurses. I can’t image a world where those people are not at their jobs on the day many of us declare to be a Holy day. “I am sorry you better schedule that heart attack for Monday.” Yeah, that’s hyperbole, exaggerated Sabbath Day emergencies, but even Jesus used that type of language when he asked the Pharisees if they would not rescue their son if he happened to fall down a well on the Sabbath.
One of those early career choices for me was at a newly opened fast-food place in a small town were customers coming after church would line up around the building to get their Sunday dinner. Some of that same bunch would lecture me on the importance of not working on Sundays. There were times I’ll admit that my job made me feel sinful and as guilt laden as many of my other failures in life. Granted, a fast-food dinner is not Sabbath Day emergency, but I was thankful for the paycheck and the things that provided for my young family. Guess you could say and not be far from the truth that I thanked God at times for a job that required Sunday work. This Sunday I was thankful I could buy a new faucet.
The leak was fixed.
There it was, the rabbit trail for this blog… One of the most effective tools in our English language, a definitive article. There is only one in the English language, “The”. Guess there are two if you vary the pronunciation. I bounce between them likely because of dad’s career choice. We moved frequently from thə south to thē north as my educated English teachers taught. Even as effective and specific as that word is there needs to be context, if I say “the school” you need some context to know of which school I am speaking. The law, the child, the chair, the house, while all nouns qualified by a definitive article without some prior context you have no idea of the subject. When my wife says “the school” in any sentence I know to what she is referring (most of the time) as “the school” is where she works. When she says the house, that could refer to where we live, a second house where we store our hobbies, a third rental property, or even the hotel where we might be staying temporarily.
We speak of the houses as the red house, the brown house, the rental house to offer clarity, but that is not specific enough for those without some previous knowledge. There are a number of brown houses, fewer red ones but still more than one. Sometimes just our current activities and context of the sentence dictate the meaning of “the house”. At other times we can just emphasize the word the, “THE house” is home. My wife’s family farmed, they had: the ranch, the homeplace, the 80, and the farm. Four different but specific places. The leak, you know as the one on this particular Sunday, that interrupted my day of rest, my Sabbath.
Sabbath, a word of Hebrew origin that like our houses refers to many different days. The most common would be the seventh day of the week, a day of rest. Sabbath could mean a year of rest for the land, or any of 7 Holidays (Passover, Yom Kippur, etc) also days of rest. It can also mean the time of eternal rest. So, if you were to say “The Sabbath” you might be referring to any of these special dates.
Much, if not all my Sunday work would be considered sinful by Old Testament standards. “Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy” was serious command in the Old Testament punishable by death to those that failed to observe it properly. Keeping that in mind when you look at the religious leaders’ accusations of Jesus, working on the Sabbath was a serious offence, deserving of the same punishment as adultery. I won’t take up space quoting or try to paraphrase the commandment. You can’t argue too much with the words of Moses, he was clear as to the practice that the Israelites should maintain. The Sabbath was a reminder not only of God’s creation work but also a reminder of the time in the wilderness. God seeing to their needs even to the point of providing a double portion of mana negating the need or excuse to gather food on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a time of remembering, reflection, and restoration.
Today the debate regarding the Sabbath has carried forward into Christianity with division on what day to observe and what observance means… Thankfully none of the Churches I am aware of call for the death penalty for non-observers of the Sabbath. Some do profess that without observance of the Sabbath you are not saved so for those there is the concept of eternal death. In this modern world what does it mean to the Christian to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy”? Is it the obligatory church service, Sunday dinners, and lazy afternoons? Should I cook my Sunday dinner the night before? What is the Sabbath for the non-Jew whose family did not wander the wilderness in search of a promised land?
That Sunday, several weeks ago now, I set in silent debate when the pastor quoted two different New Testament scriptures regarding the Sabbath and particularly the near requirement of observance. He quoted Jesus and then the Book of Hebrews. Both address the (or at least a) Sabbath directly. First where Jesus says the Sabbath was created for man not man for the Sabbath and claimed he was “Lord of the Sabbath”. My questions began, Did he mean he set the rules for the weekly observance (which is true), or did he mean a (singular) Sabbath? Did he mean we should, as a community, rest in unison once per week? Was his criticism of the Pharisees a criticism of their rules or their misunderstanding of scripture? When He spoke of a Sabbath rest and it being created “for Man” and that he was Lord of it did he mean something much more? Was he again saying he is our rest, our Sabbath, much like when he said elsewhere “come to me you who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest”? He is indeed the Lord of that Day. When Jesus said “the Sabbath was made for man” did he mean every Saturday to come, lazy Saturday afternoons? Lounging in front of an afternoon football game? Or was he saying “remember man’s hope is entering God’s eternal rest”?
The pastor was teaching us that a day set aside for worship, rest, and reflection is important. He is likely right but I kinda protested that Sunday as good Protestants should. Historically, Martin Luther taught the Sabbath commandment was given to Jews alone and not applicable to Christians. Luther thought voluntary observance of a day to rest from labor paying particular attention to Christian duties of reading the Scriptures, worshiping God, and prayer worthy, but it did not need to occur on a particular day. John Calvin also taught that that binding observance to the Sabbath was annulled for Christians, teaching that a pattern of weekly observance is useful for the church to emulate but not required.
The author of the book of Romans in 14:5-6 says
“One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.”
Colossians 2:16-17
“Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
Back to my debate racing in my mind as he quoted Hebrews, likely the most read book of my bible. The Book of Hebrews tries to make a point about the Sabbath not being the perpetual weekends we observe but a singular point of time in the future. Pointing to a deeper meaning of “Sabbath”, a rest to come. The book of Hebrews total message in chapter 4 is summed up with this quote “there remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God…. Let us make every effort to enter that rest…”. No matter how many Sunday’s pass (or Saturdays) there remains an unobserved as of yet Sabbath rest.
The message of the Gospel and I think of the entire collection of scripture we have is that there is a Sabbath coming and we should faithfully remember that regardless of our Sunday habits. Regardless of our spiritual battles, failings, or the demands of the responsibilities given us we should remember there is a Sabbath rest coming. For me the command to “remember the Sabbath” is one of looking forward, reminding myself while I toil today that there is a promised rest. There is a day coming when there will be no need to toil on Sunday (or Saturday), when the yard no longer needs care, the house doesn’t have plumbing issues, and sermons about rest are no longer needed. When Jesus said he was Lord of the Sabbath and that it was made for us, I think there was at least a double meaning. I do wonder if Jesus emphasized, or offered some inflection of tone when he said … “Lord of the Sabbath”
When I read it, I read …”Lord of thə Sabbath” and to me the definitive article points to the one to come, cause the weekly one gets interrupted way too many times with life’s work, life’s emergencies, and Sunday afternoon plumbing issues. I think Christ understood that fact of life.
I guarantee you there will not be plumbing issues, or prayers for open hardware stores on that Sabbath Day. So, as with many, so many of my Days of Rest, this Sunday I say Halleluiah, while I mop up the mess.
David
