Church of the Holy City

What Is the Sabbath?

What Is the Sabbath?
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
June 2, 2013

1 Samuel 3:1-10 Mark 2:23-3:6 Psalm 139

What is the Sabbath? Is it a certain day of the week like Sunday? Is it a day of rest? Is it a holy day? Is it a holy frame of mind? Is it a holy act? Perhaps it is all these things.
The Hebrew word for Sabbath means “rest.” The creation story hallows the Sabbath by saying that God rested on it after creating the world. The holiness of the Sabbath is also captured in the Ten Commandments. The third commandment says, “Honor the Sabbath to keep it holy.”
We see stories about the Sabbath in both our Old Testament reading and our New Testament reading. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us that the Sabbath is for man. And he also says that doing good, and saving life is appropriate for the Sabbath. In the Old Testament, God calls the young Samuel, and the prophet responds with the words, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” This may not sound like a reference to the Sabbath. But when we consider the inner sense of what the Sabbath means, it is a powerful statement of the holiness of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is indeed for man because it symbolizes regeneration. The Sabbath is the rest and peace a person comes into when his or her struggles against hell subside and we have God’s law written on our hearts. Swedenborg writes,
By this commandment in the spiritual sense is signified the reformation and regeneration of man by the Lord; by the six days of labor the combat against the flesh and its lusts, and at the same time against the evils and falsities which are form hell; and by the seventh day his conjunction with the Lord, and regeneration thereby. That as long as that combat continues man has spiritual labor, and that when he is regenerated he has rest, will be evident from what will be said hereafter (TCR 302).
This is why Jesus says that the Sabbath is for man. The Sabbath is the rest we have when our temptations are over and we are conjoined with the Lord. The Sabbath is for man in the sense that regeneration and salvation are for man.
So we see how our Old Testament story now relates to the Sabbath. For it is God’s call that brings us into the peace of regeneration. God calls us into relationship with Himself. And when we are conjoined with the Lord, we can be said to be regenerated and at peace. On our part, we need to respond to God’s call. We need to say, as did Samuel, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
The Sabbath is a holy day, because it symbolizes regeneration, or our salvation. In its highest sense, the Sabbath is the Lord Himself. It is the Lord in His Divine Humanity that saves and regenerates us all. And as the Sabbath symbolizes the Lord Himself, it is pre-eminently holy.
So we set aside one special day we call the Sabbath. We structure that day to be as holy as is possible. We take time off our work; we hold church services on it; we visit with family. We think about God and God’s love for us and our love for our neighbors.
The Jews of Jesus’ day had a long list of regulations that stated what could and could not be done on the Sabbath. There were rules about how far you could walk, what deeds constituted work–which was forbidden–and even food had to be prepared the night before because cooking was work and forbidden on the Sabbath. Neither could a person’s servants or animals work on the Sabbath.
In our New Testament reading, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees about how to observe the Sabbath. Jesus and His disciples pick grain on the Sabbath, which the Pharisees consider work. But the climax of this story about the Sabbath is Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath. The Pharisees had so many restrictions about what one could or could not do on the Sabbath that even healing was considered work. Jesus confronts the Pharisees on this issue. He asks them outright, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” The Pharisees refuse to commit, and remain silent. They know that it is good for Jesus to heal the man, but they also know that their codes of behavior on the Sabbath would prevent working, and healing could be considered work. Jesus is incensed at their stubbornness. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus is actually mad. We read, “And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart” (Mark 3:5). I was amazed that the Bible said Jesus was angry. In fact, I was so amazed that I looked at three different translations: The NIV, the RSV, and King James’ Version. They all said anger. This couldn’t be right, I thought, so I checked the Greek. The word “orge” usually means anger, indeed. But it can also mean “indignation.” Maybe Jesus was more indignant than angry. Still, the dictionary I used preferred the word anger for this passage in Mark.
Jesus is angry because the Pharisees have forgotten the meaning of the Sabbath. They want people to conform to man-made rules of behavior. They have forgotten that God, and all God stands for, is what the Sabbath is all about. And what God is and what God stands for is love for the human race and salvation for all.
So we are not saved only by the rituals we have created for the Sabbath. We are not saved by the outward ceremonies we observe, any more than the ancient Jews were by observing their rituals. We are saved by listening for God’s call. This is where the Old Testament story of Samuel is relevant. Samuel heard God, and responded by saying, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
More than just a voice is meant by this story. God calls to us every moment of every day. God calls to us in the affairs of this world. God calls us to act well, to show kindness, and to do what is good in our lives. When we pull down our vanity, as Ezra Pound writes, when we are loving in our relations, when we thank God for our bounty, then we are observing the Sabbath. These are the deeds that God calls us into. And wherever there is goodness motivated by love for God and the neighbor, there God is dwelling. There dwells holiness. There is the Sabbath. There is regeneration and salvation.
Without this regard for God and our neighbor, our holy rituals are empty. Communion, worship services, the rites and sacraments all are empty rituals. But when we have God with us, when we respond to God’s call, then we bring to holy rituals the holy things of love and fill them with spiritual meaning. Then our ceremonies come alive with spiritual life and heaven is on earth. Then the church lives. Then our religion is living faith seeking charity. Then the Sabbath works its healing on our souls, and we are united with our Maker in peace.

PRAYER

Lord, speak, for your servant is listening. Lord, we listen for your voice guiding us into what is good, and steering us away from what is evil and false. We confess before you our shortcomings and imperfections, and we know that you forgive and see only good in us. You lead us out of darkness and discord, and into the light and harmony. It is you who call to us. Give us ears to hear your still, small voice calling to us in the midst of the turmoil of this world.’

And Lord, we pray that you bring peace to this troubled world. May those who harbor ill will for their neighbors learn to understand and see the fellow humanity that they share. May those who strive against each other see that they are like in their wishes and in what they want for their land and nation. And may warring factions find their way to peace.

Lord, we ask for you to heal those who are sick. As you worked miracles of healing when you were on earth, how much more can you work healing miracles now that you have risen and have all authority in heaven and on earth. Grant all who are in need your healing love and power.