I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE. I LIKE A RESTFUL “PEACE AND QUIET” ON SUNDAYS. SUNDAY. RESURRECTION DAY! THE DAY, AS A CHRISTIAN, I FIRMLY BELIEVE TO BE OUR SABBATH.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT NOT EVERYONE SEES IT THAT WAY. I MUST HUMBLY CONFESS THAT FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS, I HAVE INTERNALLY STRUGGLED WITH HAVING TO DEAL WITH THE SOUNDS AND SMELLS OF LAWN MOWERS AND WEED-EATERS CHOPPING AWAY AT THE YARDS OF SEVERAL HOMES THAT ARE WITHIN SIGHT AND SOUND OF MY OWN.
I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY THAT PARTICULAR CHORE OF MOWING THE LAWN ON SUNDAY HAS BOTHERED ME SO MUCH AS IT HAS. THERE HAVE EVEN BEEN NUMEROUS TIMES WHERE I’VE SAT THROUGH AND PREACHED THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING SERVICES WHERE EVEN THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR TO THE CHURCH WAS FIRING UP HIS LAWN MOWER DURING THE 11 O’CLOCK HOUR.
FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS, MY WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS SUBJECT THEOLOGICALLY SINCE IT SEEMS TO WEAR ON MY MIND SO GREATLY. WHY DOES IT BOTHER ME?
IS IT “JUST” MOWING LAWNS ON SUNDAY, I DON’T LIKE? IS IT ONLY THE NOISE OF THE LAWN MOWER DISRUPTING MY “PEACEFUL SUNDAY,” I DON’T LIKE? JUST WHAT IS IT ABOUT SEEING AND HEARING PEOPLE OUT DOING THIS TYPE OF WORK ON SUNDAY THAT BOTHERS ME? IT IS A SUBJECT THAT HAS SPARKED MY MESSAGE TODAY. “THE IRONY OF WORKING ON THE SABBATH.”
YOU MAY REMEMBER BACK A FEW YEARS THE “BLUE LAWS” THAT IMPLIED TO US THAT WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO WORK ON SUNDAY. STORES WERE CLOSED, THE GAS STATIONS WERE LOCKED UP TIGHT, AND NOBODY DARED GOING OUT TO PLAY AT THE CITY PARK OR GET SEEN WORKING IN THEIR GARDEN.
I EVEN REMEMBER STORIES MY DAD TELLING ME ABOUT HOW HIS GRANDMOTHER WOULD ALWAYS PREPARE SUNDAY’S DINNER ON SATURDAY NIGHT SO AS NOT TO “WORK” ON SUNDAY. PEOPLE HONORED AND RESPECTED THE SABBATH DAY.
IN OUR SCRIPTURE PASSAGE TODAY, WE ARE INSTRUCTED THAT, “SIX DAYS A WEEK ARE SET APART FOR YOUR DAILY DUTIES AND REGULAR WORK, BUT THE SEVENTH DAY IS A SABBATH DEDICATED TO THE LORD YOUR GOD.”
THE TERM “SABBATH” IS DERIVED FROM THE HEBREW VERB MEANING “TO REST” OR “TO CEASE FROM WORK.” THE PASSAGE IS TELLING US THAT THERE MUST BE, FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS, A DAY OF CESSATION FROM THE NORMAL DAILY ROUTINE. JUST LIKE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WE MUST RING THE BELL AND GO ON “RECESS.” WE MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE DAY SET ASIDE WHERE WE JUST FLAT-OUT “STOP.”
THERE MUST BE A DAY THAT IS INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO INTERRUPT THE NORMAL, EXHAUSTING ACTIVITIES OF OUR DAILY ROUTINES OF WORK. WE MUST GET OURSELVES OUT OF THE GRIND AND OUT OF A RUT, SO-TO-SPEAK.
MORE BLUNTLY STATED, THE SABBATH IS A HOLY DAY. THE SABBATH BELONGS TO GOD. THE SABBATH IS TO BE REMEMBERED WITHOUT EXCEPTION! THE DAY IS SET APART FROM ALL OTHER DAYS OF THE WEEK TO BE USED ONLY FOR HOLY PURPOSES. THE SABBATH IS A DAY THAT IS KEPT FREE OF NOT ONLY THE CUSTOMARY LABOR OF SUSTENANCE, BUT, AS WE WOULD SAY, “BUSINESS AS USUAL.”
THERE COMES A POINT IN TIME WHERE WE MUST LIBERATE OURSELVES FROM THE DRUDGERY OF LABOR. SUCH REFRESHMENT IS VITAL AND NECESSARY. SUCH REST REORIENTS OUR VALUES AND IT WILL HELPS US TO GET OUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM BEING PREOCCUPIED WITH THE MATERIALISTIC AND WORLDLY“GETTING AND SPENDING” DEMANDS THAT COME WITH OUR JOB.
WITH ALL OF THAT ENERGY AND ATTENTION WITHDRAWN FROM OUR LABORS IT CAN NOW BE REDIRECTED AND RIGHTLY FOCUSED ON GOD AND ALSO ON THE SPIRITUAL REALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SALVATION.
HAVING A WILLINGNESS TO DISENGAGE FROM THE WORLD IN ORDER TO FOCUS SOLELY ON GOD’S HOLINESS AND TO WORSHIP HIM AS OUR FATHER AND CREATOR, IS NOTHING LESS THAN MAKING A COVENANT WITH GOD. THIS IS WHAT GOD IS SEEKING FROM US!
EXODUS 31:12-13, “THE LORD THEN GAVE THESE FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS TO MOSES: ‘TELL THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO KEEP MY SABBATH DAY, FOR THE SABBATH IS A SIGN OF THE COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND YOU FOREVER.”
REST IN THE FORM OF SABBATH, IS A FORM OF FREEDOM AND LIBERATION. IT IS AN INDICATOR THAT WE REFUSE TO BE PUT IN BONDAGE TO WORK, HUMAN STRIVING, GREED, MATERIALISM AND ALL OF THE WORLD’S PREOCCUPATIONS.
SIMPLY PUT: HONORING THE SABBATH AND HAVING THE WILLINGNESS TO REST IS A SIGN OF OUR COMMITMENT TO GOD.
IF WE WILL COME AWAY JUST ONE DAY A WEEK AND COME BEFORE OUR ALMIGHTY FATHER, WHAT WE ARE ULTIMATELY ESTABLISHING WITH HIM IS A COVENANT THAT WE ARE CHOOSING TO RELINQUISH OUR HUMAN SELF-ASSERTIONS IN ORDER TO PLACE OUR FULL TRUST IN HIM.
AS GOD USED MOSES TO LEAD THE HEBREWS OUT OF BONDAGE AND OUT OF EGYPT, SO TOO, MUST WE ALLOW THE SABBATH TO LEAD US OUT OF BONDAGE FROM THE FRANTIC AND EXHAUSTIVE PACE OF LABOR THAT USES US UP AND EMPTIES US OF WHO WE ARE.
WE MUST HAVE A REGULAR, PERIODIC, PURPOSE-DRIVEN, AND DISCIPLINED, DISENGAGEMENT FROM THE FRANTIC PACES OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT THREATENS TO CONSUME US.
GOD IS NOT A WORKAHOLIC. IT IS ORDAINED IN THE VERY FABRIC OF CREATION THAT THE WORLD IS NOT A PLACE OF ENDLESS PRODUCTIVITY, AMBITION OR LABOR. WE MUST “SABBATH” OR, IN ENGLISH, “CEASE AND DESIST” FROM ENDLESS ACTIVITY.
MARK 2:27, JESUS SAID, “THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN, NOT MAN FOR THE SABBATH.” HE IS STATING THAT GOD CREATED THE IDEA OF THE SABBATH FOR THE WELL-BEING OF HUMANS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. GOD INTENDED THE SABBATH TO BE A GRACIOUS GIFT TO US AS A RELEASE FROM THE NORMAL DUTIES OF THE WORKWEEK. A WAY TO UNWIND AND TO SET OUR MINDS AT EASE SO THAT WE MAY BE REFRESHED AND IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND WHEN WE GATHER TO WORSHIP AND GIVE THANKS TO GOD.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE PHARISEES DID MORE TO ADVANCE AND INCORPORATE THEIR MISINTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT THEY THOUGHT GOD MEANT THAN THEY DID WITH IMPOSING AND INFORCING WHAT GOD ACTUALLY MEANT.
THEREFORE, THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAD TO ENDURE HUNDREDS OF “BLUE LAWS” OR MAN-MADE RESTRICTIONS OF WHAT THEY COULD AND COULD NOT DO ON THE SABBATH. MOST, OF WHICH, CAME WITH THE PENALTY OF DEATH IF VIOLATED.
GOD CREATED THE SABBATH FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF REST AND WORSHIP. NOBODY SHOULD EVER NOR SHOULD ANY RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION EVER IMPOSE ON ANYONE ANY MISINTERPRETATION OF WHY THEY THINK GOD HAS CREATED THE SABBATH DAY FOR.
THE WHOLE POINT OF SABBATH REST IS TO RECAPTURE JESUS’ LIBERATING VISION OF THE SABBATH…RESURRECTION DAY…THE LORD’S DAY…SUNDAY…AS IT WAS INTENDED…A DAY OF REST AND WORHSIP…BOTH WICH SERVE AS A GIFT FROM GOD. IF IT DOESN’T FIT THAT CRITERION THEN WE SHOULD RE-EVALUATE WHY WE ARE NOT ONLY DOING IT, BUT WHY WE ARE DOING IT ON SUNDAY.
THIS IS WHAT I THINK WE ARE LOSING IN OUR AMERICAN CULTURE TODAY. WE ARE SLOWLY LOSING THIS PRECIOUS GIFT OF THE SABBATH REST. THIS GIFT OF A DAY WHEN WE CAN RECONNECT WITH THE HOY AND RECHARGE OUR SPIRITUAL BATTERIES.
WE CAN GET SO CAUGHT UP IN TRYING TO SQUEEZE OUT JUST A LITTLE MORE PRODUCTIVITY BY WORKING ON SUNDAY THAT ALL WE END UP DOING IS GETTING OURSELVES THAT MUCH CLOSER TO MAKING OUR LIVES A SPIRITUAL WASTELAND. AS IT HAS BEEN HUMOROUSLY BEEN STATED, “THE TROUBLE WITH THE RAT RACE IS THAT EVEN IF YOU WIN, YOU ARE STILL A RAT!”
NOW, WITH THAT SAID, I RETURN TO MY DILEMMA OF HAVING TO TOLERATING THOSE WHO MOW GRASS ON SUNDAY. HOW DO I ANSWER MY OWN QUESTION WITH WHAT I JUST TAUGHT? EASY! I LET THEM MOW THEIR GRASS AND SAY NOTHING TO THEM ABOUT IT.
THE POINT COMES DOWN TO MY FAMILY AND ME. THE ONLY PEOPLE I CAN INFLUENCE TO PROPERLY “SABBATH”…THAT IS “CEASE AND DESIST” ARE MY HOUSEHOLD AND ME. NOT MY NEIGHBOR, NOT THE PEOPLE LIVING DOWN THE STREET OR OVER ON THE NEXT BLOCK.
THE FACT IS, IF I WANT TO RELIEVE STRESS IN ORDER TO REST AND I WANT TO WORSHIP GOD, AND IT IS SUNDAY, AND THE GRASS NEEDS TO BE MOWED, I CAN WORSHIP GOD BY CARING FOR THE PROPERTY HE HAS GIVEN ME BY MANICURING IT TO PERFECTION BY MOWING THE GRASS. AS IT HAS BEEN SAID, “ONE PERSON’S ‘WORK’ IS ANOTHER PERSON’S LEISURE.”
BUT, LOOKING AT IT FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN, IF MOWING GRASS ON SUNDAY IS LEISURE AND RELAXING TO ME, BUT I KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT IT IS NOT FOR MY NEIGHBOR, THEN I DON’T MOW MY GRASS ON SUNDAY IF IT WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO MY NEIGHBOR’S ABILITY TO REST AND ENJOY THE PEACE OF SABBATH.
I CAN’T MAKE MY NEIGHBOR NOT WORK IN THE GARDEN OR NOT MOW THE GRASS, OR NOT WORK AT THE OFFICE ON SUNDAY. WHAT I CAN DO IS MAKE MYSELF “NOT” WORK ON SUNDAY.
IMPOSING MY “SANCTIONS” ABOUT THE SABBATH ON OTHERS AND SENDING THEM ON A GUIILT-TRIP ABOUT WHAT I THINK THEY SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT DO ON SUNDAY IS NOT ANY BETTER THAN WHAT THE PHARISEES DID TO HEAP TONS OF INTELLECTUAL LAWS AND BURDENS OF GUILT UPON THE JEWISH PEOPLE.
THAT’S THE IRONY OF WORKING ON THE SABBATH. IT DESTROYS OUR “BLUE LAWS” AND ANY OTHER MISCONCEPTION WE HAVE OF WHAT “IS” AND “IS NOT” ALLOWED TO BE DONE ON SUNDAY. IF IT IS A WAY FOR YOU TO RELAX, UNWIND, AND FIND REST, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME OFFERING YOU A WAY TO EXPRESS AND GIVE WORSHIP TO GOD AND TO RENEDER HIM GLORY, THEN BY ALL MEANS, DO SUCH THINGS FOR GOD’S ADORATION.
ALTHOUGH I WOULD STILL ARGUE THAT DOING WORK ON SUNDAY BECAUSE SUNDAY IS “JUST ANOTHER DAY” AND FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE THAT YOU ARE JUST DOING THE WORK TO “GET AHEAD” OR TO “STAY ON TOP OF THINGS” IS A TOTAL DEFEAT OF WHY GOD CREATED THE SABBATH FOR YOU.
IF THIS IS THE CASE AND YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, THEN YES, YOU ARE WRONG AND YOU ARE ABUSING THE SABBATH. IF THIS IS THE CASE, THEN I SIMPLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER REDIRECTING YOUR CHOICE OF DAY TO WORK BY PACKING IT UP AND SAVING YOUR WORK FOR ANOTHER DAY.
JUST AS A REMINDER…THE SABBATH IS A COMMANDMENT. IN FACT, EXODUS 20: 8, “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY BY KEEPING IT HOLY” JUST HAPPENS TO BE COMMANDMENT NUMBER FOUR.
EXODUS 20:11, “FOR IN SIX DAYS THE LORD MADE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, BUT HE RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY. THEREFORE THE LORD BLESSED THE SABBATH DAY AND MADE IT HOLY.”
SO, I CONCLUDE WITH A FEW QUESTIONS FOR US TO PONDER: WITH WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED TODAY, HOW CAN WE MAKE OUR SABBATH MORE HOLY THIS WEEK? HOW CAN WE CONTINUE IN OUR CHRISTIAN JOURNEY TO KEEP IT HALLOWED? WHAT IS IT ON SUNDAY THE SABBATH THAT WE MUST STOP OR CEASE AND DESIST IN ORDER TO MAKE IT HOLY AND A TRUE DAY OF REST?
LET US ALL GO AND FIND SUCH REST THAT BECOMES NOT ONLY HONORING, PLEASING AND FILLED WITH WORSHIP TO GOD FOR SUCH A GREAT AND PERFECT GIFT, BUT A WAY FOR US TO BE REFRESHED IN THE PUREST SENSE OF THE WORD. AMEN.
