\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On the surface this morning our scripture texts do not seem to have much to do with Gratitude or Thanksgiving.\u00a0 I propose this morning that not only do they have something to do with Gratitude or Thanksgiving, but within them one may find a foundation for Gratitude.<\/p>\nI begin this morning with a personal story of gratitude.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earlier this week, on Monday in fact, I was reminded of how sweet it is to take a deep breath.\u00a0 I mean literally and not metaphorically.\u00a0 On Monday morning I woke up with a bad cold.\u00a0\u00a0 My asthma has been giving me trouble this fall and so as the day progressed on Monday, and the cold virus took hold of me, my breathing difficulties increased.\u00a0 By mid-afternoon, I began to worry when my ventolin puffers were not relieving my situation and by evening, I knew that I needed the assistance of the medical establishment through the emergency department, something I had encountered with my children in their own experiences with asthma, but not something I had, had to do for myself before.
As I sat with a medicated mask of ventolin and oxygen strapped to my face and took slow and every increasingly deep breaths, and as my airways began to clear, I was reminded of how sweet it is to breathe\u00a0 and I was grateful.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I knew I wanted to talk about Sabbath Rest as the bases for Gratitude, but I didn\u2019t know that the supporting illustration for my sermon would come from my own experience of relearning\u00a0 to appreciate the simple yet life-sustaining, normally \u201ctaken for granted\u201d act of breathing.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In my experience recently in the church we haven\u2019t talked a lot about this fourth Commandment. It is a commandment after all.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRemember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.\u00a0 Six days you shall labor and do all your work.\u00a0 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work \u2013 you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.\u00a0 For us it is possible that it has become another one of those \u201cS\u201d words.\u00a0 Like Sin and Salvation, we have struggled to find a way to
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 name it ,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 understand its importance
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and apply the meaning of Sabbath in our day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And yet, echoing in our spiritual memories, we might be vaguely aware that there is something deeply important about understanding why remembering the Sabbath is so important as to have been listed in the commandments, just behind,\u00a0 the first three commandments that have to do with our relationship with God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And just before all the rest that have to do with our relationships to each other.
\u00a0 \u00a0 By way of reminder here is a brief summary of the commandments. The first three after God\u2019s self assertion, \u201cI am the Lord your God, are:
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 you shall have no other God\u2019s before me
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You shall not make for yourselves any graven images
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then \u201cremember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,\u201d with an explanation
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and then the rest of the commandments:
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Honour your father and mother,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, and you shall not covet.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In my reading this week one author asks, <\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 Remember,<\/em> [the Sabbath] as if we would forget.\u00a0 Indeed, the assumption is that we will forget.\u00a0 And history has proven that, given enough time, we will.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0 \u201cRemember the Sabbath\u201d is not simply a life-style suggestion.\u00a0 It is an ethical precept alongside others such as prohibitions against killing, stealing, and lying.\u00a0 How can forgetting the Sabbath possibly be morally and socially dangerous?\u00a0 How can forgetting to be restful, sing songs, and take delight in creation be as reprehensible as murder, robbery, and deceit?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0 It was not Israel that kept the Sabbath, it is said, but the Sabbath kept Israel.<\/em><\/p>\nPerennially, naming, understanding and applying this commandment have been a struggle.
But before I address the struggle, I want to look more closely at what the commandment actually says and the motivation named for its invocation.<\/font><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the Old Testament, the 10 commandments can be found in two places, Exodus 20, that we read today and Deuteronomy 5.\u00a0 In the first one, the Exodus passage,\u00a0 the Israelites are commanded to remember the Sabbath, because God completed God\u2019s creative work in six days, stopped working and rested on the seventh day and then sanctified that day to make it Holy.\u00a0 The commandment recognizes that work is part of life and acknowledges that on six days people will do work, but the seventh is a Sabbath of\u00a0 God \u2013 the Israelites and everyone in their\u00a0 households, and their communities, the strangers in their midst, and even their animals will cease and desist from work.\u00a0 Shabbat means: cease, stop, desist.\u00a0 In this way, they were asked to recognize a creative balance between work and rest. <\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the Deuteronomy passage, the wording has changed slightly as has the motivation given.\u00a0 Instead of \u201cRemember the Sabbath\u201d, the Israelites are asked to \u201cobserve the Sabbath\u201d and to do so in remembrance of God\u2019s liberating power in the Exodus event.\u00a0 \u201cRemember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and your God, YHWH, freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore your God, YHWH has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So together, the motivational clauses of Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 bind Israel, through its Sabbath observance, to its God experienced as Creator (according to Exodus) and Liberator (according to Deuteronomy).<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There is ample evidence throughout the Old Testament that consistent observation of this commandment was challenging.\u00a0 Jeremiah confronts the people with the option of Sabbath observance or nonobservance, the latter leading to the destruction of the city. (Jer. 17:19-27).\u00a0 In our society I don\u2019t know if we think very often about the potential consequences of the lack Sabbath observance.\u00a0 Is there something destructive for our city in the way our society lives? How often do we think about it? <\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After the return from Babylonian exile Nehemiah attempted to enforce Sabbath observance by closing the city gates to merchants and consumers on the Sabbath day.\u00a0 In our society that would be like disallowing retail truck traffic into the city on Sunday. <\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The prophet Amos condemns the commercial spirit that cannot wait for the Sabbath to be over in order to do business. (Amos 8:4-6).\u00a0 In our society, technology and global village thinking means that commercial business can now operate 24\/7 \u2013 relentlessly anytime any day and this is commonly thought to increase productivity and allow greater freedom in the flow of g
\noods and materials around the world.\u00a0 We are loath to have any of our \u201cfreedoms\u201d impinged upon.\u00a0\u00a0 Restrictions are quickly seen as unnecessary legalism.<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the New Testament gospels, the question about legalistic observance\u00a0 of the Sabbath was one of the main controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees.\u00a0 In the gospel stories, the strict legalism of the Pharisees is used as a negative counter-point to the sovereign freedom Jesus uses when he insists on healing on the Sabbath.\u00a0 In the Gospel of Mark we hear Jesus say, The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath, (Mk. 2:27)and to ask, \u201cIs it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?\u201d (Mk 3:4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Pharisees look really bad in these controversies and recent Jewish Christian dialogue has helped us to see that these unhelpful stereotypes of Pharisees have had drastically negative repercussions for Jews for centuries.\u00a0 I have learned that Sabbath observance for Rabbinic Judaism after the time of Christ and in current practice for many is not so much a time of legalistic restriction, but a time of real joy and delight.\u00a0 Jews today greet Friday evening at sundown, the beginning of Sabbath, with the same joy and delight that one greets a bride at a wedding.\u00a0 When I was in Israel and participated in a Sabbath evening celebration, I was privileged to sing along with my Jewish brothers and sisters, the song, L\u2019cha dodi likrat kalah\u2026\u201d<\/em>Come, my beloved, to greet the bride, the presence of the Sabbath let us welcome.\u201d\u00a0 As with any celebration, the room was full of joyful energy as we anticipated our time of worship together.\u00a0 You may be aware of the sentiment, TGIF, which means \u201cThank God it\u2019s Friday.\u201d\u00a0 Now add to that sentiment love and devotion to God of the Sabbath and you\u2019d be close to knowing how that service felt.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In summary, Jesus\u2019 critique of restrictive legalistic requirements around Sabbath keeping could have applied to anyone, Christian or Jewish, who sought to deny the joyful time of rest that Sabbath promotes.\u00a0
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Historically, the official shift for Christians from the Jewish Sabbath to Sunday as the official day of worship occurred in 321 CE when Christianity became the official Church of Rome.\u00a0 However, I was surprised to discover that at first, \u201cThe Lord\u2019s day\u201d, as it was called, did not carry with it the injunction to rest.\u00a0 It was only much later in medieval Catholicism and American Puritanism that Sabbath rest became a major part of Sunday observance \u2013 only with this difference – the restrictive aspects of the observance were not balanced by the innate joy of the Jewish Sabbath or Shabbat.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some of you here may have some memories of pleasureless Sundays because of restrictions around what one could or could not do on the Lord\u2019s Day. I\u2019m not sure if that was because of Puritan influence on Anabaptists or because of our own Mennonite tendencies towards legalism at certain times in our history.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Regardless of where we\u2019ve come from in our view and experience of Sabbath rest and practices, our challenge remains to name, understand and apply if we can what it means for us today.
<\/font><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If we take Jesus as our guide, we hear him saying in the Sermon on the Mount that he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but he came to fulfill them.\u00a0 He goes so far as to say that if your righteousness does not exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (read here: any religious leader from any faith who believes that strict adherence to laws brings liberation) then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.\u00a0 Jesus wants those who choose to follow him to think and go and do and live beyond what even the law requires.\u00a0 His whole list of \u201cyou have heard that it was said \u2026. But I say to you\u2026. invites us to deepen and broaden our understanding of the commandments rather than loosen their requirements of us.\u00a0 So, why and how does this apply to the Sabbath?
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As it\u2019s placement in God\u2019s list of commandments suggests it may in fact be morally and socially and just plain spiritually dangerous to ignore the Sabbath.\u00a0 It\u2019s like holding our breath.\u00a0 Taken to the extreme, that\u2019s actually a life-threatening thing to do.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are we being invited to consider here?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It seems clear. What would it look like if everyone who possibly could\u00a0 – human and beast \u2013 humanity and creation – stopped working once a week.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stop, cease, and desist,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and rest \u2013 not just occasionally but for one day every week.\u00a0 Six days you shall work and the seventh day shall be a Sabbath of your God. \u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Because I\u2019m such an integral part of our work and productivity oriented culture, I\u2019m tempted to ask the question, \u201cWhat would \u201cstopping\u201d accomplish?\u00a0 Even stopping needs to accomplish something doesn\u2019t it?
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I humbly suggest that Sabbath rest – the cessation of work does accomplish re-orientation.\u00a0 It re-orients our sense of self and our sense of God.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One day a week we can be reminded that the most important service we can render to God as an act of worship, or a spiritual discipline if you like, is to do nothing, to desist from managing the world for one day and to leave the world to God\u2019s governance<\/strong> in faith.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To stop is an act of faith in God.\u00a0 To stop is to acknowledge our own limitations and to remember that God is the creator, liberator and healer.\u00a0 Six days of the week we are invited to labour alongside God.\u00a0 The seventh day helps us to remember the ultimate goal and purpose of our labour \u2013 co-creation, co-liberation and co-healing of the world alongside God in a world that God governs and not us.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are ways many of you already observe the Sabbath.\u00a0 There are ways that you already know or have discovered
how to stop and breathe,
how to let God be God,
how to be still and know that God is.
I am sure there are times in your lives when your inhale and your exhale is in rhythmic balance,
your airways are clear,
and you experience Gratitude.
That is my hope.
What are some of those times?
I think of our gathering here as a people of God every Sunday for joyful and celebrative worship.\u00a0 This is a Sabbath act.
When we find ways to gather over lunch together, or attend concerts together,
or walk along the beach or stroll through the park, or go cycling with family and friends;
any event corporately or individually on this day that helps us to stop, re-orient and draw near to God.\u00a0 This last part is important.\u00a0 An important aspect of the Sabbath is to avail ourselves of the opportunity to draw near to God \u2013 the one who sanctifies a day,
a rhythm of work and rest and who desires that we be Holy as God is Holy.
<\/font><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are the Sabbath activities that allow you to breathe, orient or re-orient you to the real purpose and goal of your six days of work and allow you to acknowledge the reality of God in your life with gratitude?
How do you already remember the Sabbath? Or how would you like to remember the Sabbath if you could? In a moment we will pause for silent reflection while you consider the answers to these questions.
There is a lot of wisdom in this room that we would find some value in sharing with each other.\u00a0 Let us pause for some silent reflection and then let\u2019s share some of our Sabbath oriented gratitude with each other after which I will\u00a0
close with a prayer of gratitude.
Holy God,
Every morning you provide us with a glimpse of your steadfast love and faithfulness
When the sun yet again rises above the horizon
painting the sky with Your delight.
And one day each week you call us to a place of rest from our labours
to a place and time marked by nearness to Your Holiness.
May our remembering of the Sabbath
Be for us a reorientation to your governance.
May it be a time where we know that you are God and we are not.
And may this realization allow us to breathe.
For this we are grateful and may our praise and prayers of Gratitude be heard and received by You
Creator, Liberator and Healer.
Amen.<\/font><\/p>\n<\/p>\ni Wayne Muller in Sabbath:\u00a0 Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest.\u00a0 p. 6-7,9.<\/em>
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