Sabbath Rules

 Isaiah 58:9b-14; Luke 13:10-17

When we were children, we learned that there are rules. We begin with simple ones, like a sharp “NO” when we reached for something hot or sharp. As we grow, we learn more rules, how and when to sit still, take turns, clean up after ourselves, be kind to each other. We learn to hold hands with an adult and watch for traffic when we want to cross the street. We learn to use hot soapy water to wash hands and dishes.

As we grow, the rules become more complicated. We learn to listen or sing or speak as a group when we go to church. We learn about hierarchy, who is the boss of whom, and notice that even when we are old, we still have rules.

Approximately 3,500 years ago, God gave a list of 10 rules to Moses, who taught them to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. The first few rules tell us how to have a relationship with God, and the rest tell us how to have a relationship with each other.

Over the centuries after the first giving of the commandments, more rules were developed, interpretations of the original ten. By Jesus’ time, the rules had multiplied, and a lot of them concerned how to observe the sabbath. Many of the rules defined what was considered work, and affected many aspects of life.

In addition, some rules that used to only apply to priests were beginning to be expected of regular folks as well. Jesus and the disciples often encounter this, and it’s the cause of several conflict conversations between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.

… Today’s Gospel reading is one such conversation. Jesus is in the synagogue and spots a woman who has been disabled for 18 years. He calls her over, initiating the contact with her. He heals her in that moment, and she immediately gives credit to God for the healing.  

But the leader of the synagogue doesn’t recognize God’s activity. While he doesn’t directly accuse Jesus of working on the sabbath, he tells the people gathered to come another day to be healed. Isn’t that interesting? The leader apparently makes the connection that God can heal, but can’t see the healing as a good enough thing, a God-thing, when it happens on the sabbath.

Jesus points out what is obvious to us, and should be to the synagogue leader. It’s an argument from lesser to greater. We take care that our animals have food and water. How much more we should be caring for the people around us who are in need.

As it turns out this time, the folks who objected to Jesus working/healing on the sabbath are booed and the others in the room praise God for the healing, and celebrate with the woman on her new-found freedom from pain and distress.

 Jesus heals this woman and calls her a daughter of Abraham. As a crippled person, she was required to be as invisible as possible, a non-person. People of her town thought there must have been something sinful about her or her ancestors to make her so disabled. We can imagine her hiding around corners, unseen but listening to hear what Jesus had to say.

Jesus calls to her and heals her, frees her from her infirmity, frees her from her disgraced position in town, frees her to participate in her community and family. Jesus frees her to be who she really is, a daughter of Abraham.

… Sabbath is about relationships. It’s about the relationship between us and God, individually and corporately. God commanded us to take time off, as God did after the initial work of creation. God knows how easy it is to get involved in other activities like work and home maintenance, and ignore the rest that is most important for our well-being.

When we intentionally take time to be with God, we know who God is, and who we are in relationship to God and each other. We have time to reflect on what it means to be children of Abraham, children of God. We know that we are worth something, no matter how much or how little we have in the bank.

Taking time for sabbath also helps us see each other as children of God. When we view our neighbors as children of God, it’s easier to be kind and respectful of them, even when they aren’t kind and respectful of others.

…These days, it isn’t always possible to take Sunday as sabbath. It’s certainly not sabbath for pastors! Or for church committee members who find Sunday the best day for meeting. And it’s not common to have a full day for sabbath. But I encourage you to find some time every week as sabbath, and a little time every day for silence with God.

Take time to listen to what God is saying to you. One meditation practice you might try is to sit or lie comfortably for a few minutes and allow God to look at you. Open your heart to Jesus, and let him see you as you really are.

Know, as God looks at you, … that you are a beloved, … forgiven, … whole child of God. Amen