A word from Jesus

Then [Jesus]  said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

(Mark 2:27-28)

What is Jesus really saying here?  What does this mean about our call to Sabbath and our practice/living of Sabbath?  Well I think the underlying understanding here is that the Sabbath is a gift for the building up (or rebuilding) of God’s people.  It is not a requirement that should become burdensome or legalistic.  Things happen in day-to-day life that we must respond to, whether on Sabbath or not, and Jesus is telling us to live.

So what does this mean for us as we draw near to the close of our congregational intentional sabbath time?  Well, it means that as we begin to process this experience and look towards the blessings we have been given in the midst of it, that we aren’t to make this a law.  We aren’t to say, “Well, we’ve got to do this, this way, all the time.”

The point of sabbath is to cease, to rest, to be still and know fully that God is God.  So may we continue that ceasing and knowing, and may we honor the gifts that we have been given during these days of rest.

Traditional Opening Prayer of the Home Service for Sabbath

Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God,

King of the universe, who hast sanctified us by Thy

commandments, and commanded us to kindle the

Sabbath lights.

May the Sabbath light which illumines our

dwellings casue peace and happiness to

shine in our home. Bless us, O God, on this

holy Sabbath, and cause Thy divine glory to

shine upon us. Enlighten our darkness and

guide us and all mankind, Thy children,

towards truth and eternal light.

Amen.

From: Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva J. Dawn