St. Matthew's Episcopal

Church

Pennington, NJ

Sabbath Time

(Preached on August 26, 2007)

By

The Rev. John C. Belmont

"If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day… then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 58:13-14.)

"Trampling the Sabbath, pursuing our own interests!"  It seems to me that this is a constant problem and source of misunderstanding among God's people throughout history. The origins of Sabbath can be traced to ancient Semitic times when humans looked upon the seventh day with superstition.  They believed it was the day of the week when evil spirits lurked, so it was a time to avoid doing anything and remain undercover.  Interesting!

Our Jewish forbearers turned the negative view of the seventh day of the week into a positive when they came to understand from the Torah, God's commandment that the seventh day was the day on which the Lord rested from the process of creation.  The seventh day was "Sabbath," a word that means "cessation."  Sabbath time was of significant concern to the prophet of the 6^th century who spoke the text quoted above to those who perverted the Sabbath in his time and place.

What keeping the Sabbath meant was a deep-seated misunderstanding that caused the controversy between Jesus who healed the woman on the Sabbath in the synagogue with the leader of that faith community.  In Mark's version of the Gospel it also instigated the flap with the Pharisees who criticized Jesus' disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath to feed their empty stomachs as they journeyed through Galilee with their Lord.  Today our understanding of what it means to keep the Sabbath is sorely tested by the pace of contemporary lifestyle, isn't it????

I live on Fairway Drive in HopewellTownship, appropriately named, since my street runs into the 3^rd fairway of the Hopewell Valley Golf Club.  This 3^rd hole is known as the "sinner's hole" by some who are members of the golf club and are also members of St. Matthew's.  The hole got its name several years ago.  It was 7:15am on a spring Sunday morning and I was on my way to church.  As I made the turn from Fairway Drive, heading down Moore'sMill Road, I noted that there was a foursome on the third tee.  As I got closer, I recognized one of the golfers.  He was a member of the parish and he was about to tee off.  I stopped the car and rolled down my window.  I said in a stern parent-like voice, "Thomas!" Our brother in Christ quickly dropped to his knees and blessed himself!  The other three golfers witnessing the event began to laugh hysterically!

Thomas grew up in another branch of the Church and when caught by the priest on the golf course on a Sunday morning immediately reacted as if he was in deep trouble by committing this mortal sin!  We still kid him about it today.

So, what does it mean for us as God's people to keep the Sabbath and how have we either misinterpreted God's will or how have we as a society trampled the Sabbath in our time?  I suggest that many have got their priorities in life all wrong when they don't make time for God and for themselves, sacred time to give thanks and to rest.

The fourth commandment says:  "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God"…..According to the Torah it is a time set aside for rest, as God rested and consecrated it.  It is the seventh day, from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday that is set aside when no labor is done, a tradition that can be traced back into the roots of Judaism. For the people of Jesus' time it meant that only those things that were of vital necessity and of extreme urgency where allowed.  Certainly, healing the woman with the spinal defect in the story we have before us today was not one of such urgency since it could be accomplished the next day!  Or, so the leader of the synagogue thought taking what would have been the orthodox view of the whole matter. And as for Jesus' disciples picking grain on the Sabbath, why didn't they do it yesterday, or couldn't they wait until tomorrow?  Jesus did not agree!

Jesus reminded those strict constitutionalists who were so quick to criticize that "the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath."  Human need and hunger, healing by God, bringing people to wholeness was urgent business.  The Sabbath is used by God as God chooses!  Healing, feeding and caring are acts of a Holy God, and gifts to benefit God's people.   The day of rest is a gift given to us to get closer to our God and therefore to give thanks to the One, who feeds, cares and heals!

For Christians, the Sabbath has become the first day of the week celebrating the resurrection and new life which God gives us in Jesus Christ.  Sabbath time is setting aside space to remember and give thanks. The word Eucharist means "giving thanks" and this is what we do as part of the Sabbath. Getting closer to God in prayer and study is also part of what we are called to do. Caring for ourselves and our family by doing things that refresh us is also part of what we do.

Sometimes, we take better care of our cars than we do ourselves, don't we?  Christians are called by God to dedicate one day a week to recharge our spiritual batteries, to refill our empty emotional tanks, and to change our worn tattered tires with ones that will allow us to make it through the pot holes of the week ahead. 

God's expectation is that we keep the Sabbath Holy, by setting apart a day and a space to worship and give thanks, to allow ourselves to be fed, spiritually, emotionally and physically. It is a time for "re-creation." Keeping Sabbath is equally important to us as it is to God. 

Spread the Word!  I hope to see you next week and the week after and the week after….And should I catch you on the 3^rd hole of the golf course or in the Pennington Market on a Sunday, don't sink to your knees in embarrassment; No guilt trips from this priest!  God loves you just the same and I know how much he misses being with you, just as I do!

My hope and prayer is that we all come to understand just how much we miss God and each other and we make it a priority to keep the Sabbath rest by making time on that day to be present with the worshipping family that gathers to Give Thanks.