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Remembering the Sabbath |
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Remembering the Sabbath
Some Practical Tips for Keeping the Day
I
grew up in Western North Carolina and I recall the Sabbath as a day
remembered by all, church goers or not. Restaurants shut their doors,
businesses closed and events such as children’s athletics were not
scheduled. In Exodus 20:8, God instructs us to “Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.” This third commandment is also given to us in Deuteronomy 5:12 where the word, remember, is exchanged for the word observe—“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
As a child, the Sabbath meant going to church faithfully, Sunday
dinners with relatives and friends, long naps, reading books, and
visiting with neighbors on front porches. Sundays were always a treat,
one eagerly anticipated.
My children could not say the same.
Sunday, to them, means anything from running errands with Mom, going
out to eat after church, soccer games in the afternoons, or finishing
up homework Their Sabbath is marked by our church service—after that,
it’s back to business-as-usual. After noticing the physical and
spiritual effect this non-stop motion has taken on all of us, children
and adults alike, I decided to try remembering the day more
deliberately.
“Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy”
is the third commandment (Exodus 20:8). The Sabbath was a sign pointing
to Jesus, who is our Rest. Since Jesus came, God no longer requires us
to observe the Sabbath day and other holy days in the Old Testament
(See Matthew 11:28, Matthew 12:8, Colossians 2:16–17, Hebrews 4:9–10.)
However, God does require that we continue to worship together as
Christians, though he sets aside no particular day for doing so. (See
Acts 2:42, 46, Hebrews 10:25, Romans 14:5–6, Galatians 4:10–11.) The
early Christians began meeting on Sunday—the first day of the
week—because that is the day Christ rose from the dead, and so we
continue in that tradition. (Luke 24:1–2, Acts 20:7) 1
So,
while we are not bound to the Sabbath law and no longer required to
keep it, I think any of us who has ever taken a vacation and come back
refreshed and ready again for life’s challenges can attest to the necessity of taking time off.
I know if I give my body, mind and soul a day of rest in the Lord, the
next week always goes better. This is what is called the third use of
the law.
God uses his law in three ways. He uses it to:
• maintain external discipline in society
• lead us to recognize our sin
• guide Christians so that they will know what is pleasing to Him.
These are often described as a curb, a mirror, and a rule. 2
First,
what does God expect from us on the Sabbath? He instructs us to cease
from all labor and to gather in sacred assembly (Leviticus 23:3). We
might wonder, especially in our modern day world where recreation such
as spending the day at the lake is a typical enjoyable Sunday afternoon
activity, what is considered work?
To cease working on the Sabbath means to quit laboring at anything that is work. Activity that is enjoyable and freeing and not undertaken for the purpose of accomplishment qualifies as acceptable for Sabbath time. 3
Accomplishment is the sense that we need to always be producing, striving, fixing, and controlling, to feel successful or secure.
Our
worth rests in Christ, not our accomplishments. With these thoughts in
mind and a desire in our hearts to worship and rest in the Lord on the
Sabbath, let’s look at some creative ways that we can more deliberately
bring the Sabbath back into our homes, without being rigid or
legalistic about it.
1. A Sabbath Prayer. Saying a short prayer on Saturday night before bedtime begins our Sabbath then.
Stop and think about it. For most of us, our Sabbath begins on Sunday
mornings when we enter the church door, and ends sometime around six in
the evening when we begin to prepare ourselves for Monday. Physical
rest, if any, might mean sleeping in a little longer, or if we can,
taking a nap in the afternoon. Starting on Saturday night gives us a
full twenty-four hours and a good night’s sleep! By asking God to
prepare our hearts and minds for worship and giving him all the things
that are looming in the week ahead, we can count on a more restful
sleep. It tells our minds, before our head hits the pillow, that the
Sabbath has started. It’s like getting into the car to go on vacation.
The minute my car pulls out of the driveway, I feel more relaxed and
ready to let go even though I might still have hours of driving ahead
of me. When I kneel beside my bed on Saturday night and ask God to
begin his Sabbath work in me then, I am handing him the reins of my
life and all my striving stops. I rest physically first.
2. Completing Work.
Plan your work to be done by Saturday evening. While this may not
always be easy, it can be done. When we leave to go on vacation, we
plan ahead because we want to enjoy our vacation, not stress over
unfinished work. The same applies to the Sabbath. The word for Sabbath
is ceasing—we cease what we’re doing and rest. Planning to not work allows us to plan work better!
3. The Sabbath Box.
This box is placed at the entrance to your home. When you come home on
Saturday evening, no matter the time (I have a teenager who is coming
in later and later), put everything that reminds you of work or the
outside world in this box. Cell phones, palm pilots, calendars,
important papers, mail, to-do lists, messages, and watches! These items
are placed in the box not to be retrieved until Sunday evening. It
gives a sense of closure on the week and the knowledge that we won’t
need them for one day—we are resting.
4. Appliances.
Turn them off. It makes for a quieter house and gives room for other
activities such as reading, walking, sitting on the porch, or visiting.
If you aren’t emailing or talking on the phone, what do you do? If
you’re not doing laundry or running a load of dishes, what do you do?
Try turning off the most-used appliances in your house for the day. See
if more restful activities don’t take their place. And don’t forget,
the God who gave us the evening and the morning can give you the space
and time to do those tasks another time.
5. Make Sabbath choices.
My family has come up against this a lot. I have two boys that play
sports. Yes, their games and practice times are often scheduled on
Sunday—quite a few during church hours. We don’t want to be legalistic
about it, but neither did we want another “activity” scheduled for the
day we set aside for worship and rest. Running children here and there
didn’t feel like either of those things to us. We opted, as a family,
not to let it interfere with our Sabbath day as much as we could
without neglecting commitments.
Each family or person must make
their own prayerful decisions about what they will or will not do on a
Sabbath. There was a time when running errands, going grocery shopping,
or working out at a gym was not an option because businesses were
closed. Now Sunday is one of the most lucrative days for business
owners. God tells us to cease on this one day and remember that he is
sovereign and can provide for us and take care of us. Make your choices
based on this knowledge. Ask yourself, am I striving? Am I pursuing? Am
I trying to fix it? This is the day to acknowledge the Lord and his
wonderful provision for us. How do you do that?
6. Enjoy friends.
Remember visiting? Dropping in? We wouldn’t dare drop in on someone
now, though there was a time when friends’ stopping by was a common and
pleasant surprise. Encourage your friends to drop by, share a meal with
them—not the meal, just a meal. Peanut butter sandwiches work fine when
you’re with friends. Enjoy their company!
Celebrating the
Sabbath in a world that never stops—and frowns on those who do—is hard.
We must be deliberate and purposeful about setting the day aside and
ceasing from our work and labors. But when we do, we can return to our
work refreshed, and truly rested. Remember it is a day that God blessed, and who wants to turn down a blessing from God?
For those whose professions don’t allow Sundays off, choose another day!
Take one day where catching up with chores or errands is not on your
agenda, but catching up with God and yourself is. Give yourself
permission to do this for you. If you cannot worship on Sunday with
your church family, you can make time in your day for private worship
and prayer. Or perhaps you can be a part of a week-day Bible study that
day. Being in God’s Word is easier at church and you might have to make
more of an effort, but your soul will be nourished and refreshed. We
are so adamant about making sure we exercise, eat right and doing what
is healthy for us; this is part of the equation. Health includes our
entire being, not just our bodies.
Finally, this is not about
stressing over keeping the Sabbath. This is creating room in your life
for rest and for God one day out of the week. If a week comes along
that is impossible and work must be done on the Sabbath, remember that
our rest is in Christ.
(NIV) Matthew 11:28–30 "Come to
me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and
my burden is light."
1 Luther’s Small Catechism
2 Book of Concord
3 Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, Marva J. Dawn
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Last Updated ( Monday, 23 October 2006 )
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