In this morning's text we'll find
Jesus once again in the midst of conflict. There are several layers, but the
one that I want to look at has to do with the Sabbath. Jesus has a little
debate on the proper use of the Sabbath, and he uses the thinking of his
opponents to show that they are inconsistent in challenging him. We're not
going to look at how he does that today. I thought that it would be good,
first, to take another look at the Sabbath. We might come back to this text and
consider how Jesus confounds his antagonists, but not today. Today, we're just
going to think about the Sabbath. Our text is John 7.10-24.
Let's start with a review of this
idea of the Sabbath. It has its beginnings in how God created all of this. He
took six days to do all that he was going to do to create, and then he took a
day off. Listen.
Thus the heavens
and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day
God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from
all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Consider this: God gives to his
creation a day to rest from the work of the other days of the week. And to show
how important that is, he gives himself as an example. God rested. There is a
time to work. God expected Adam and Eve to work and to work hard. There was
much to do in organizing creation and bringing it to the point he intended. So,
there is definitely a time to work. But then, there is a time to rest. This is
when the tools of work are set aside. That's rest for the body. This is also
when the thoughts of work are set aside. That's rest for the soul. The word
'Sabbath' comes from the Hebrew word for 'rest'. God established a day to rest,
for both body and soul.
By the time that we get to the NT
Jesus encounters people who have taken this gift of the Sabbath and twisted it
all up. They've created a bunch of rules about how one is supposed to live on
that day. And even a quick read through the Gospels shows that Jesus had more
than a few conflicts with the establishment about all of that. So, instead of
being a time to enjoy rest the Sabbath became just another day of work, working
to keep these rules. I think that I'm on safe ground when I say that that
annoyed Jesus no end. And that's why he told them,
The Sabbath was
made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was a gift, built
into the universe, when God created it. It was something to be enjoyed. It was
to be rest. Jesus tried to re-establish it as such. And for such a radical
notion they killed him.
All of that was just to give some
background. What I want to do now is take a look at this idea of a day of rest as
it relates to today. Because of how God created all of this, the notion of a
day of rest still applies. But, just as in Jesus' day, most don't understand
what that means. So, we still have those with a set of rules for what is
allowed on a day of rest and what isn't. And then, there are the many who do
not even think about a day of rest. Every day is pretty much the same: a bunch
of hours to fill up with whatever. It's this latter group that I want to take a
look at.
Even just a glance at life in America
will tell you what most people think about a day of rest. It's a myth. It
doesn't exist. Every day is filled with things to do, things that we have to
do, absolutely must do. A day, a full
day, devoted to rest, to being refreshed, is almost unheard of. Now, why is
that? I have several thoughts. Here's one. Could it be God's curse? There are
times when God's punishment takes the form of letting someone get what he
craves. Could it be that God is responding to those who reject the idea of a
day to stop and take a break? Could it be that God is saying, 'No day of rest?
Is that how you want to live? Fine'? Does he give them what they want, days
filled with too much to do and never a break? I sometimes wonder if this
refusal to rest is one reason why so many struggle with failing health. The
body was created to take only so much. Push it too hard and it shows. So, could
it be that our culture's busyness, its restlessness, is God's curse? I'm not
sure, but it seems like something worth considering.
Here are two other ways to answer
our question, 'Why is it that people don't take a day of rest?' Please
understand that these will be generalizations that don't explain everything or
everybody. I will be painting with a very broad brush. I do think, however,
that there is something in these two responses to ponder. First, there is the
issue of boredom and then, second, there is anxiety, which is just a
psychologized term for fear. Let's take a look at boredom first.
When I mention boredom as a
problem in our culture I'm not saying that there isn't anything to do. There
are lots of things to do - too many things, in fact. But that's not the problem
that leads to boredom. While God built into creation one day a week for rest,
he fully intended the other six for work. But understand what his original
intention for work was. Work is not basically about how to get a paycheck to
survive. Work was (and still is!) about creativity. We were created to be
creative. When God handed creation over to Adam and Eve it was just a lump of
clay. God's intention was for them - and us! - to take that lump and make it
into something beautiful. Work is a way to mold the universe. Having something
to eat and some shelter are just some pleasant byproducts. Work is supposed to
be about people being creatively engaged in shaping creation for the sake of
the Kingdom of God
That's work as God intended it.
But who thinks like that today? How many people you know can honestly say that
the work that they do engages them as people, brings out their creativity and
results in their satisfaction? I think that most would be happy just to be able
to say that their jobs, whether in the home or out, are 'okay'. But creative,
engaging, satisfying? And what was that about the Kingdom
of God
Now, the problem is that the
human spirit was created to be engaged and satisfied. So, if the job won't do
it, something else has to. As a result, for so many people, the rest of life is
filled with things that are supposed to make up for the eight or ten hours a
day (or more!) of tolerating the job. And that's the boredom that I'm talking
about: the hunt for something that satisfies the soul. And one consequence of
that hunt is that there is no day to stop, to rest. Resting, in the way that
the Bible means, can only make sense if the rest of the week is filled with
satisfying work. But people are bored. So, they live in the hope that something
else will satisfy - and maybe it does satisfy a bit, and that in a way that the
job does not. So, it only makes sense to spend what free time you have doing
that. Here, think hobbies, sports, crafts, computer games, you know, 'fun
stuff'. These are supposed to compensate for what is lacking. So much, then,
for a day of rest.
Now, that's a problem. What do we
do about it? The solution here is not to erect strict rules about one day each
week given to rest. All that would do is take away what seems to be the
satisfying part of life. And that would frustrate people. They would still feel
the dissatisfaction but not be able to deal with it as they have. So, rules
won't work. The solution, or at least the beginning of a solution, is to deal
with what, for many, is a major source of the dissatisfaction: a job that does
not engage and thus does not satisfy. Clearly, that will be a knotty problem.
There are no simple answers here. But let me mention one aspect that is
important, one place to begin to re-think all of this: a sense of calling. The
Father has made each of you for a certain kind of work, and, by the Spirit, he
has given each of you the abilities you need to do that. He has done that so
that you can pursue a particular course, a particular way of investing your
life, a particular way to be creative. That's his calling. Whatever that is,
that is how you can be engaged. The goal is not a paycheck, but the
satisfaction that comes from pursuing the calling you were created to pursue.
There are lots of questions and issues and more that I'm not going to be able
to go into now. But I will say this much: it's easier to find this sense of
calling and to pursue it before you have a family and a mortgage and all the
rest. The training of your children needs to include helping them to discern
what it is that the Father is calling them to do.
Now, let's consider the other
answer our question, 'Why is it that people don't take a day of rest?' This is
about fear, or if you prefer, anxiety. I'll just touch on this, but I think
this will be enough for a start. So, here's life. It's filled with things that
need to get done. In fact, it's overfilled. But that's to be expected if
boredom is at least a looming threat, if not a present reality. And all of
those things just have to get done. So, taking a day off, a day of rest -
that's just impossible. It would make the rest of the week completely
unbearable. Everything doesn't get done as it is. But understand what that
means. This kind of life is motivated by a low-grade fear that reaches into all
of the corners. This kind of person is not always in crisis, but there is a
certain tone to life, a subtle, anxious tone just under the surface. This
doesn't mean that everything is bleak. No, fearful people and even bored people
have bright spots. That's what keeps them going. My point isn't that life is
either bright, shiny and wonderful or just horrible and unbearable. No, it's
not an on/off switch. We're back to the dimmer switch. Life here won’t be bright,
shiny and wonderful. But you can get close. However, being persistently
motivated by the threat of bad things happening - that is, being persistently
motivated by fear - won't get you there. And please note that this undertone of
fear can be very quiet. It hides. But you can see it if you know what to look
for. One place it can show is in the body. Some people are physically very
tense. Their muscles are tight. On-going anxiety is not the only cause of a
tense body, but it is one possible cause. Another way this fear can show itself
is as a general feeling of being unwell. You're not bed-ridden, but you're
dragging through the day. And that makes sense when you realize that fear takes
energy. Along with looking at your body it's good to look at your soul. Is
there evidence of an anxious spirit? Or let's flip that around. Are you at
peace within? No one experiences that perfectly in this life, but how would you
describe your inner life overall? Peaceful? Again, there can be many different
causes for a lack. Fear, this theme of anxiety within the soul, can be one of
them. These are just suggestions for you to consider.
So, what's the solution? In both
cases, the problem of boredom and of being fearful, the solution is Jesus. It's
as a person learns to trust Jesus that the knot begins to be untied and a
solution can unfold. So, to start with, trusting Jesus means that you believe
him when he says, 'I made you in such a way that you need one day of rest each
week. So, listen to me. Take a day off!' Trusting Jesus shows in obeying him. I
have been working on this recently. Sunday is by no means a day of rest for me.
So, I take Mondays as my day of rest. But I've been taking a closer look at
that this summer. What does it mean for me to rest? I eat, sleep, study, write
and do my laundry in my row house. I have come to see that rest for me will
include getting away from there. So, this summer there were days when I took
some lunch to Presque Isle just to watch whatever as I ate. I've gone to a
Starbuck's to sit and read something just for fun while I'm drinking some
coffee. I've even gone to the mall to wander about and look at the stuff as
well as the people. In these and other ways I've gotten away from the place
that has so much for me to do. Also, on Mondays, I avoid anything having to do
with pastoring. So, there is nothing even close to sermon preparation. I don't
answer emails that have to do with pastoring - I don't even read them. Now, you
need to understand that because of my particular mix of sins there is a part of
me that says, 'But this week has some more added to it - or it might. You never
know. So, you really need to forget about this day of rest thing and get to
work.' That's my drivenness, and it's another place where I need to trust
Jesus. He has not only told me that I need a day of rest. He has also told me
that he will make sure that I will have whatever I need - and that includes the
time and ideas to write a sermon or whatever else that needs to be done. It's
at that point that I have to choose. Will I listen to that voice in my head
telling me about how I need to get to work? Or will I trust Jesus? That's not
just about sermon prep. It's also about all the different things that shout,
'You had better do me right now. I don't care about a day of rest. Get this
done now or else bad things will happen.' I am learning to trust Jesus - and he
has consistently come through. Everything gets done.
Now, I don't have problems with
boredom. And the reason is obvious to me. I love what I do. I find being your
pastor engaging and satisfying. Writing sermons and prepping Bible studies are
opportunities for me to be creative. This isn't a job with a paycheck for me.
And without fail, at the end of vacation time I am eager to return and have at
it again. I've had jobs where that certainly was not the case. I am engaged and
satisfied by what I do because I am pursuing what I am sure is Jesus' calling
for me: to be your pastor. So, I am not looking for something that will fill in
the gaps and satisfy. I am already quite satisfied. So, you see what I mean
when I say that the solution is Jesus. You trust him for his promises as well
as in his commands.
So, what should you do? Is it
time to completely redo your whole life? I seriously doubt that. I doubt that
anyone here could just stop and completely change everything just like that.
But is there nothing to do? Here's a suggestion about where to start. Ask
yourself a question. How are you doing at enjoying a day of rest, a day to be
refreshed? It may be that this area is working out just fine. Good. Enjoy. But
if not, it then becomes something to pray about. 'Lord, how do I fix this? How
do I create a day of rest?' The Spirit will respond to your prayers with some
things to do. It may be a bunch of small tweaks or it may involve a large
revamping of life. Just do what he tells you. Most change isn't immediate or
dramatic. Most change is slow and just bit by bit. It's when you get some
distance and look back that you can see the change. We will not experience a
perfect life here, complete with perfect work and perfect rest, but we can get
closer to that than what we are.
There are still questions and
issues. What does a day of rest look like in a family with small children? Is
it ever right to not have your scheduled day of rest? How do you know if it is
okay? There are lots of questions. But because your Father loves you he will
let you know the answers at the right time. What you need to do is work at learning
how to trust Jesus