S2E33 Sabbath in a Restless World

Hello my friends, and welcome back to the Spray UMC Podcast.

I'm Hoyt.

We live in a world that does not seem to know how to stop.

There is always another task to complete, another message to answer, or another problem demanding our attention.

Even when our bodies are still, our minds may continue moving from one concern to the next.

Many of us have become so accustomed to being busy that rest makes us uncomfortable.

We sit down while thinking about everything we should be doing.

Sometimes we even feel guilty for resting.

We may also begin measuring our worth by how much we accomplish.

When we are working, helping, and producing, we feel useful.

When illness, age, exhaustion, or circumstances limit what we can do, we may wonder whether we still have value.

But God never intended our worth to depend upon our productivity.

The command to remember the Sabbath was given to people who had once been slaves.

Pharaoh measured the Israelites by the bricks they produced.

When they could not meet his demands, he increased their burdens.

Then God delivered them.

After bringing Israel out of bondage, God told his people to stop working and rest.

Sabbath was not another burden, it was part of their freedom.

They belonged to the God who had rescued them.

Today, I want us to consider what this ancient command can teach us in our restless world.

Sabbath is not a reward we receive after everything is finished.

It reminds us that everything never depended upon us entirely.

The pattern of Sabbath reaches back to creation.

Genesis tells us that after completing his work, God rested on the seventh day and declared it holy.

God did not rest because he was exhausted, he rested because his work was complete.

This established a rhythm within creation, work followed by rest.

Work is good, but work becomes harmful when it becomes our master, when productivity becomes our identity, or when we refuse to accept our limits.

We are not machines, we become tired and need sleep, nourishment, worship, and relationships.

Our limits are not evidence that God made a mistake, they remind us that we are creatures and not the creator.

Sabbath asks us to stop while some work remains undone.

It invites us to trust that God continues caring for the world when we are not working.

Rest reminds us that we are not God, and that is good news.

In Scripture, the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, Saturday.

Jewish Shabbat begins around sunset on Friday and continues until Saturday evening.

Most Christians gather for worship on Sunday, the Lord's Day, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week.

Some Christians understand Sunday as the Christian Sabbath.

Others distinguish between the seventh day Sabbath and the Lord's Day.

Some Christian communities continue to worship and rest on Saturday.

Faithful Christians have disagreed about which day should be set apart and how the command applies to the church.

We will not settle that discussion today.

The question is not only which day do I observe, we should also ask, Am I making room to worship God, receive his rest, and remember that I belong to him?

When Moses repeated the commandments in Deuteronomy, he connected Sabbath with Israel's deliverance.

Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.

That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Deuteronomy five fifteen.

Slaves do not control their own time.

When Israel rested, the people were declaring that Pharaoh was no longer their master.

They belonged to the Lord who delivered them.

The command extended rest to sons and daughters, servants, foreigners and animals.

A landowner could not rest while forcing everyone beneath him to continue working.

Sabbath protected people who possessed less power.

We may no longer make bricks for Pharaoh, but money, success, approval, fear, and the desire to feel needed can still master us.

Sabbath reminds us that these things do not own us.

Our worth is received from God, not achieved through endless work.

By the time of Jesus, religious leaders had developed many rules intended to protect the Sabbath, but rules meant to protect God's gift could also obscure its purpose.

When the Pharisees criticized Jesus' disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath, Jesus said The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

So then the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Mark two twenty seven twenty eight.

Jesus did not dismiss the Sabbath, he restored its purpose.

On other Sabbaths he healed people and showed that mercy belongs at the center of God's command.

We must not use Sabbath as a weapon against people whose responsibilities require them to work.

Nurses, caregivers, first responders, parents, restaurant workers, and many others may not control their schedule.

Illness and medical treatments do not pause because the calendar says it's time to rest.

Necessary work does not remove or need for restoration, but the practice may look different from one life to another.

Someone who works on Sunday may need another time of worship and rest.

A caregiver may need the church to provide help.

A person weakened by illness may need to rest without feeling guilty.

Rest can be difficult because it requires us to surrender control.

When we stop, unfinished work remains unfinished.

Silence may also bring fears or grief to the surface that busyness helps us avoid.

We may even use constant activity to prove that we are dependable and necessary.

But Sabbath teaches us that we that being needed is not the same as being loved.

God does not love us because we have made ourselves indispensable.

Sabbath rest is more than collapsing from exhaustion or spending hours distracted by a screen.

True rest makes room for to receive life as a gift.

It may include worship, prayer, scripture, a shared meal, a walk, music, silence, laughter, or sleep.

What restores one person may not restore another.

The question is not only what am I prohibited from doing, a better question may be what is God trying to give me?

If setting aside an entire day feels impossible, do not turn Sabbath into another overwhelming project.

Begin with one small step.

Set aside an hour without unnecessary work.

Silence your telephone.

Read a psalm slowly.

Eat one meal without rushing or looking at a screen.

Take a walk.

Sit quietly with God or allow your body to rest without calling yourself lazy.

Then pray.

God, the world is yours.

I can stop because you remain at work.

A day of rest can help our bodies and minds, but our deepest rest is found in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11, verse 28.

Matthew 11:28

Jesus does not invite those who have completed their work.

He invites us while we are weary and the burden is still heavy.

Though his death and resurrection, Christ accomplished the work of salvation that we could never accomplish.

We cannot work hard enough to pay for our sins or make ourselves righteous.

Salvation is received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

This is the deepest truth of Sabbath.

We rest in what Christ has done.

We live in a restless world, and if we wait until everything is finished, we will never rest.

Sabbath teaches us to stop while work remains.

It reminds us that we are not slaves whose worth depends upon endless production.

It calls us to extend rest and mercy rather than using religious rules to burden others.

Perhaps you cannot set aside an entire day this week, but perhaps you can begin with one hour, one quiet meal, one walk, or one moment when you place your unfinished work into God's hands.

Sabbath is not a reward we receive after finishing everything.

It is God's gift reminding us that everything never depended entirely upon us.

Let us pray.

Lord God, you created us with limits and gave us the gift of rest.

Forgive us for measuring our worth by our productivity, or living as though everything depended upon us.

Teach us to receive Sabbath without guilt and to make room for worship, mercy, restoration, and joy.

Forgive us when we use your commands to judge or burden others.

Be near to those whose work, caregiving, illness, or medical treatment may make traditional Sabbath observance difficult.

Show each of us one faithful step toward rest.

Help us place our unfinished work and unanswered worries into your hands.

Lord Jesus, we are weary and burdened.

Teach us to come to you and receive the rest only you can give.

In your holy name we pray.

Amen.

Thank you for joining me today.

If you do not have a church home, we would love to have you worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.

We are a loving church where we love God and love people, all people.

Until next time, may the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe.

Goodbye.