A Sabbath Heart
I preached yesterday about Sabbath, and I'm really glad to have gotten loads of great responses to what I had to say! I suppose people enjoy hearing that they should have rest!! I thought I'd put down some of the practical points of how to keep Sabbath, and some of the resources I used in putting this all together.The two golden rules of Sabbath from "The Rest of God":
1. Stop doing what you “ought”.
Sabbath is a time to cease, to stop. Stop from what? The bible says that we’re to stop from our work. That doesn’t mean just our jobs, it’s scope is bigger then that. It is stopping from those things that we feel we “need” to do, we ought to do. It’s removing those taskmasters spoken of in Deuteronomy. It’s a day when you take your list of things to do, and say ... it can wait. Now, this takes some intentionality. While Israel was in the wilderness, they had to collect double the food the day before the Sabbath. In the same way, you may need to work hard to accomplish necessary things before Sabbath in order to fully rest. However, our aim is not to be legalistic about it. If something comes up that needs doing, you can do it with a clear conscience. Please though, work hard at ceasing from those “oughts”.
Here’s the trick though, what one may call an “ought”, others find to be a joy. For example, it was a joy to me a few summers ago to come home and work on the farm during my holidays. Why? Because most of my time was spent in an office looking at a computer screen. To get out in the fields driving the tractor was wonderful for me! It wasn’t draining, it was life giving.
For some, the last thing you’d want to do on your Sabbath is to get in the car and drive. For others, it feels like the best thing you could possibly do is to drive. That’s why we need to keep ourselves from listing what one should or should not do on the Sabbath. And this leads us to our second golden rule
2. Embrace that which gives life.
We need to know not just what to avoid on the Sabbath, but also what to pursue. Mark Buchanan writes:
“When Jesus broke man-made Sabbath regulations, He always went this direction: He healed, He fed, He claimed the right to rescue creatures fallen into wells or to lead to wells creatures falling down with thirst. Jesus pursued those things that give life. Whatever had been stolen by sickness, by the devil, by sheer accident and mishap - these things He sought to take back and give back.... What better day than Sabbath to trounce Beelzebub, to trump death, to reverse sickness, to repair injury, to pamper ourselves?”
What makes you feel alive, what energizes you? Is it being outside, is it curling up with a good book to read? Is it time spent doing things with others, is it time spent alone just you and God? Sabbath is a day for those kinds of pursuits.
Sabbath is a time to cease, to stop. Stop from what? The bible says that we’re to stop from our work. That doesn’t mean just our jobs, it’s scope is bigger then that. It is stopping from those things that we feel we “need” to do, we ought to do. It’s removing those taskmasters spoken of in Deuteronomy. It’s a day when you take your list of things to do, and say ... it can wait. Now, this takes some intentionality. While Israel was in the wilderness, they had to collect double the food the day before the Sabbath. In the same way, you may need to work hard to accomplish necessary things before Sabbath in order to fully rest. However, our aim is not to be legalistic about it. If something comes up that needs doing, you can do it with a clear conscience. Please though, work hard at ceasing from those “oughts”.
Here’s the trick though, what one may call an “ought”, others find to be a joy. For example, it was a joy to me a few summers ago to come home and work on the farm during my holidays. Why? Because most of my time was spent in an office looking at a computer screen. To get out in the fields driving the tractor was wonderful for me! It wasn’t draining, it was life giving.
For some, the last thing you’d want to do on your Sabbath is to get in the car and drive. For others, it feels like the best thing you could possibly do is to drive. That’s why we need to keep ourselves from listing what one should or should not do on the Sabbath. And this leads us to our second golden rule
2. Embrace that which gives life.
We need to know not just what to avoid on the Sabbath, but also what to pursue. Mark Buchanan writes:
“When Jesus broke man-made Sabbath regulations, He always went this direction: He healed, He fed, He claimed the right to rescue creatures fallen into wells or to lead to wells creatures falling down with thirst. Jesus pursued those things that give life. Whatever had been stolen by sickness, by the devil, by sheer accident and mishap - these things He sought to take back and give back.... What better day than Sabbath to trounce Beelzebub, to trump death, to reverse sickness, to repair injury, to pamper ourselves?”
What makes you feel alive, what energizes you? Is it being outside, is it curling up with a good book to read? Is it time spent doing things with others, is it time spent alone just you and God? Sabbath is a day for those kinds of pursuits.
What should you do on a Sabbath?
You should rest.
You should worship.
You should feast.
You should play.
You should listen.
Resources:
posted by Jesse @ 9:38 a.m.
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