Pentecost 2B/Lectionary 9
June 2, 2024
Deut. 5:12-15, Mark 2:23-3:6
INTRODUCTION
Today we enter what is known as the Ordinary Season, marked with the use of green paraments. It is the long season, about 5 months, between big festivals, and during these weeks, we hear stories about Jesus’ ministry and we learn about what a Christian life looks like.
This first Sunday of ordinary time, we focus not on the getting-your-hands-dirty sort of ministry, but rather, about the importance of sabbath in a life of faith. Of all the ten commandments, this is the one mentioned most throughout the Bible, and perhaps that is because it is also one that is very difficult for us!
Before we hear these readings about Sabbath, I wanted to offer a bit of a definition. I think we often hear “sabbath” and think, “going to church.” And yes, that might be a part of it, but there is more to it than that. In Exodus, God tells Moses that Israel is to remember the sabbath, to keep it holy, because God rested on the seventh day, and so should God’s people. So there, it is about rest. But the other time the sabbath law is given is in Deuteronomy, in the passage we will hear today, and here, God ties it instead to the Exodus story – a story of liberation. In other words, the sabbath is observed so that we would remember our God-given freedom.
In our Gospel reading, which takes place on the sabbath day, we will see yet another perspective on the sabbath: that it is about compassion, healing and restoration, and that it was made for humankind, not vice versa. In other words, the sabbath should not be a burden, a duty, but rather it is a gift, given by God to humans.
Lots to unpack about the sabbath. As you listen, consider from what you need a rest, a break, even liberation, and trust that God wants to give you that freedom. Let’s listen.
[READ]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Remember the sabbath, to keep it holy.” I remember learning about that one in confirmation class, I remember talking about what is meant by sabbath – that it is about more than just going to church, but rather, about spending time with God… But I admit that, even a seminary education later, I still don’t always understand it.
I think I’m in good company, though – where other commandments are pretty clearcut (put God first, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet), the sabbath commandment remains one of the least understood and, if we’re honest, perhaps also the least followed commandment. The problem is, ours is a culture that so often places value and worth on being productive. We’re lucky if we find a job that places real value on taking time off. Even in school – we were in Canada last week to visit my brother and his family, and learned that our nieces in grades 1 and 4 get three recess breaks a day, where our kids only get one recess, and are even expected to work through their morning snack break! Even when we do rest, it’s not always restful. We have a phone close at hand so we can scroll through social media or the news or whatever, and we use our day “off” to do all the chores and errands (folding laundry is hardly a rest!). I cringe to think how often, at the end of the day when my family shares highs and lows together, I say, “My high is that it was a really productive day. I got a lot done!”
So yeah, I am not sure we do so well at following the sabbath commandment. But in our defense, the meaning or purpose of the sabbath law is also not always clear. Exodus gives different rationale than Deuteronomy, Israel struggled with it, and we can see in the Gospel reading that it was a source of controversy in Jesus’ time as well.
So, let’s break this down and see if we can’t make some sense out of this important but misunderstood commandment.
First, I’m really interested in what Jesus says to the Pharisees, “The sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the sabbath.” In other words, the sabbath law, like any law I suppose, can all too easily become one more thing on our list of shoulds, and from there, it becomes a burden – something to which we are beholden, even that causes suffering. In the first part of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ disciples are hungry and so they pick some food to eat, but this is technically harvesting (work), and is breaking the sabbath law. The expectation seems to be that they should just go hungry, rather than dare work on the sabbath.
But this isn’t right, says Jesus. It may follow the letter of the law, but it is not in the spirit of the law. The sabbath, and all the commandments, were given as a gift. The commandments in general are there as a guide to show God’s people what it looks like to love God and neighbor. The sabbath law in particular is a real gift of grace. Check out the reading from Deuteronomy, in which God says, “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.” This law was always meant, you see, as a release from our burdens and that which would oppress us, an opportunity to live in freedom! “The sabbath was made for humankind,” Jesus says, “not to be one more thing that makes living difficult.” The sabbath is about life, freedom, flourishing, restoration, and rest from all that would keep us from those things, all that would keep us from God.
It’s no wonder we struggle to live into this commandment. I mean, it sounds great, all this talk of freedom, rest, and restoration! Who wouldn’t want that? And yet the prevailing messages in our minds and in the world around us make that gift so hard to receive. Everywhere we go, it seems, we hear messages like: Your worth is based on your productivity. You should be able to do it all, and in order to do that, there is no time for rest. You are valuable when you accomplish or contribute something. You have not earned a break. Above all that noise, it is difficult to hear that loving voice of Jesus, whispering, “You are worth more than what you can produce. To God, you are already worth everything.”
As I’ve been thinking about this, I keep returning to our reading from Deuteronomy. “Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt…” That rationale might seem completely irrelevant to us today – after all, none of us here have been slaves in Egypt, or even slaves at all. But… that doesn’t mean that we are completely free. There are plenty of lands of Egypt in our lives, plenty of things that hold us captive, that keep us from living into the fullness of the life God envisions for us, that keep us from being restored, and from finding joy in God’s presence. Off the top of my head, here are some: we are captive to our to-do lists, and the hope of productivity; we are captive to our negative self-talk, whether that’s about our body image, or our abilities, or people’s perception of us; we are captive to our regrets or guilt about the past; we are captive to our resentment around unmet expectations about how things ought to be; we are captive to sin, and cannot free ourselves… Anyone here find yourself a slave in any of those lands of Egypt?
If we are to follow the sabbath commandment, we need to take a good hard look at these things that are keeping us captive, and consider, perhaps in prayer: what would a sabbath from that slavery, that work, that burden look like? I’m under no illusion that they can go away forever, at least not this side of heaven, but even the sabbath commandment doesn’t expect that. One day, it says, one day you shall rest, remember that our God is a God of freedom, and wants you to experience that freedom as a matter of ritual and routine. So, what would sabbath rest look like, for your particular land of Egypt?
Perhaps it is as simple as a decision: today, I will not feel resentment about this pile that my spouse still hasn’t dealt with. I’m just not gonna let it bother me today! Or maybe a small act: today, when I see myself in the mirror, instead of thinking I look old and fat, I will say to myself, “Your body is amazing, and it does amazing things every day – pumping blood, carrying nourishment, healing itself.” Or maybe it is putting on your to-do list for your day a chunk of time that you commit to doing something fulfilling, something that restores your soul – sitting in quiet prayer, coloring, reading a good book, making music, having coffee with a friend. I can tell you what gives me a sense of freedom from my burdens, but you and God have to decide that yourselves.
The point is: the purpose of the sabbath is not deprivation. It is not withholding compassion from those in need. It is not about laziness. The purpose of the sabbath is to be reminded on a regular basis that in God’s eyes, your worth or value is not dependent on your productivity. It is to remember that God wants life for you, and wants to give you freedom from that which holds you captive. When we observe the sabbath, we are saying to all those things that would try to keep us from the full and holy lives God wants for us, “You do not define me,” and we are instead stepping into the space that God through Christ made for us: to be a holy people, free from the captivity of sin, sent out to love and serve the world.
Let us pray… Liberating God, there are so many demands on us – things we love doing, and things we know we must do. But your desire for us is freedom. Help us to stop, to reflect, and to be released from those forces, expectations, and needs that hold us captive, so that we would come to know the freedom you envision for us. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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