Sabbath of the Heart

Psalm 71:1-6
Isaiah 58:9b-14
Luke 13:10-17


“Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

One of the things I hate most about Christmas is the feeling of a compulsory gift exchange. That is to say, whenever someone unexpectedly gives us a gift we feel compelled to go out and get something for them. It is the socially acceptable thing to do, and we are pretty sure it is expected of us even though we should also know that a gift purchased in haste will be a gift gone to waste even as we try to remind ourselves that “it’s the thought that counts.” What rubbish! We cannot know for sure if the gift-giver had an ulterior motive to begin with, but we cannot rest until we’ve returned the favor and removed that monkey from our backs! After all, we are nothing if not well versed in the social graces.

Giving gifts in hopes of getting gifts in return makes no sense. After all, if it is a matter of spending money on gifts for others as an “investment” (that is, hoping for and expecting some sort of return on that “investment”), would we not be better served if we were to save the cash and buy for ourselves what we really want rather than to gamble on spending that cash for a decent gift and getting junk in return? For this reason alone, it is not reasonable to believe that those who come bearing gifts always have something up their sleeve although if the gift comes from an unlikely source or if we hold positions of influence on any level, there may well be a good reason for suspicion. After all, virtual strangers don’t give gifts out of the goodness of their hearts. If they do, we can be pretty sure it is a gift with strings attached. Otherwise, it could well be that the gift-giver thought of us and found something they thought we might enjoy. Shame on us for questioning the motive when the gift comes from a genuine friend!

What is important to us when it comes to those gift-giving occasions? Do we focus on the contents of the package, or do we put more thought toward the one bearing the gift? And if we have a focus that leans too heavily one way or the other, does it matter? Is the gift more or less important than the one who offers the gift, or is the gift merely an extension of the gift-bearer’s affections? I hate it when folks ask me what I want on those gift-giving occasions because I think I prefer to be surprised, but I also think that I prefer to let the one proposing a gift to me know that the matter of the gift is not nearly as important to me as the manner in which it is offered. If our focus is entirely on how the gift will benefit us personally, we are in for disappointment because a material gift will likely never meet, let alone exceed, our expectations.

The Sabbath is probably the most misunderstood of all divine gifts because of the manner in which it is presented. It comes to us as a COMMANDMENT, so it already presents itself in a “thou shall not” context which sounds more negative than positive. It’s right up there with “you shall not steal”, etc, so the force of its words comes to us as more of an ultimatum, a threat. If this is our state of mind or thought, then it is little wonder that we are unable to recognize the GIFT for what it is and for what purpose it is meant to serve.

And this is no less true in Jesus’ own time. The leader of the synagogue (Luke 13:14) is positively clueless as to the intent and design of the Sabbath. As Jesus points out, where else but in worship should one expect such a healing to take place? The synagogue leader probably came by his belief about the Sabbath honestly, but this leads us to question how something as simple and as beautiful could have been so woefully misunderstood for so long. The answer may be as compelling as it would be now if we seriously question how we could have taken the Sabbath so much for granted and not appreciate it for ALL that it is to us.

The weekends are for the most part reserved for our leisure. For those of us lucky enough to have weekends free, we make plans to recreate or catch up on what was neglected during the week. We sleep in, do yard work, house work, swim, hike, or whatever else our hearts desire. On Sunday we (should) go to church, and then we go out to eat or have a nice dinner at home. From there we are back on recreation or whatever else suits us. Essentially, we use the weekend – including the Sabbath – to please ourselves.

For the most part this is not an entirely bad thing. Part of the essential element of the gift is that it is intended for our use, for our enjoyment. The Lord created human bodies to do amazing things, but He would also know better than anyone that the body – as well as the mind – needs to rest. It cannot go non-stop for days on end without eventually crashing … we call it ‘burn out’, and many of us have experienced it to one degree or another. We know that its effects are real, and the consequences can be devastating. So because our Creator is well aware of our limitations, He offers a gift. It is a MANDATE, make no mistake, but like all other commandments, we must look beyond the surface and acknowledge that there is more to the Word of the Lord than mere words.

So there must be a balance. Yes, the Sabbath is intended for our benefit – primarily, rest - and our enjoyment, but we must still be mindful that it is the Lord’s Day, a Day sanctified by our Creator Himself. What this means to us is that even while we are enjoying and recreating and resting, we must not fall into the “me first, me only” abyss of self-centeredness because, according to the prophet Isaiah, this seems to violate the spirit and the sanctity of the day blessed by the Lord.

“If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth.” Isaiah 58:13-14a

Too often we read the prophets but don’t take from them the “practical application” of the Law. For Christians, it is difficult to read the Law or the Prophets without the New Testament perspective. The early Jews lacked this perspective, so what is written was what they had. The intent of what was written for their benefit had to stand on its own merits. I can think of no better teaching of the Sabbath than this.

Isaiah takes us far beyond the notion of the Sabbath as being used only for our benefit. In conjunction with Jesus’ point to the synagogue leader, how better to glorify the Lord than by giving of ourselves and not considering it “labor” or “work”? Of course there is the “rest” element of the Sabbath that we need, but we have to dig a little deeper to find the true meaning of Sabbath and the Lord’s intent on sanctifying this Holy Day. For our rest and comfort, sure, but giving of self is defining the truest concept of biblical love and allows us the opportunity to portray a divine gift in a practical way for others to see and to comprehend.

It almost seems like a burden to be made to feel as though we must go out and “work” on some charity if we’re going to do anything at all. If it does, then we’re back to the negativity of “commandment”, and we miss the “gift” element of the Sanctified Day. This is not to suggest that perhaps the mention of “Sabbath” and “commandment” in the same breath must somehow be realigned or perhaps be rewritten. Not at all. In order to fully appreciate the impact of the gift and its Source, however, we must receive the “mandate” as we would a loved one who forces us to take medicine that tastes, well, “mediciny”. We hate it and we would rather endure the sick than to take that nasty medicine, but the loved one who offers it then becomes rather firm in the insistence that we WILL take the medicine … and learn to like it. Or suffer the consequences.

And I will offer the consequences in this way. It has been recently revealed that Mother Teresa, almost from the beginning of her incredible ministry of service to the poorest of the poor, suffered a crisis of faith. In letters she wrote to friends, she expresses a spiritual weariness that can easily from confronting the ugliest of ugly in an unjust world and working tirelessly on behalf of those who suffer as a result of such injustice: “Where is my faith? Deep down, there is nothing but emptiness and darkness. If there be a God – please forgive me.”

In light of this revelation, some have suggested that Mother Teresa was a fraud. In the public eye, she was the epitome of faith. Otherwise, how could she have possibly continued for as many DECADES as she devoted to her ministry? “What do I labor for? If there be no God, there can be no soul. If there be no soul then, Jesus, You are also not true.”

It seems to me that the real crisis in faith Mother Teresa experienced was a crisis that will come as a result of never taking the time to rest, the MANDATED rest sanctified by the Lord. If we work non-stop and never take time to reflect and to pray, how can we know of the presence of the Lord when we are constantly bombarded by the realities of THIS WORLD and all its ugliness? And Mother Teresa saw the worst of it – every – single – day.

This kind of depth-of-soul pain is precisely what I think the Sabbath was “commanded” to confront. The Sabbath as the true gift it really is, is designed and mandated and GIVEN for its most spiritual nature: to know that there is a God, that we are not Him, and that we are not alone, forsaken, nor forgotten. The Gift of Sabbath is given with no strings attached but with a real benefit that will always exceed our greatest expectations.