sabbath regulations
A preacher told a story of meeting a man one day in a restaurant. ‘Are you a preacher?’ the man asked. Somewhat embarrassed, the preacher said, ‘Yes.’ The man pulled a chair up to the table. ‘Preacher, I’ll tell you a story about myself… Life was tough because my mum had me but she had never been married. Do you know how a small Tennessee town treats people like that? Do you know the words they use to name kids that don’t have a father? Well, we never went to church, nobody asked us. But for some reason or other, we went to church one night when they were having a revival. They had a big, tall preacher, visiting to do to the revival and he was all dressed in black.
He had a thunderous voice that shook the little church. We sat toward the back. Well, that preacher got to preaching, about what I don’t know, stalking up and down the aisle of that little church preaching. It was something. After the service, we were slipping out the back door when I felt that big preacher’s hand on my shoulder. I was scared. He looked way down at me, looked me in the eye and said, “Boy, who’s your Daddy?” I didn’t have a Daddy and that’s what I told him in trembling voice.
And the preacher replied, ‘”O yes you do. You’re a child of the Kingdom, you have been bought with a price, you are a child of the King!” I was never the same after that. Preacher, for God’s sake, preach that.’
The preacher had no doubt spoken at length during the service, but this boy had no idea what he was talking about – in the end what touched him was a simple act of acceptance… from being rejected throughout his life, this preacher told the boy that he was a child of God – and his life was transformed.
It’s a great example of how we can concentrate on lots of things about rules and about tradition, but miss the whole point that actually the most important thing is to receive and feel and convey the love of God.
And in our gospel reading this morning (Luke 13:10-17), Jesus comes up against a similar problem. We are told that he was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath and was approached by a woman who had been crippled for 18 years – Jesus, doubtless moved with compassion, healed her… Now, because it was the Sabbath, the leader of the synagogue condemned his actions – telling the crowds, not Jesus himself, that there were 6 days to work, but the Sabbath day was not for work…
Jesus immediately turned angrily on the synagogue leader calling him a hypocrite and he reminded him that compassion must over-ride any rules.
There are still many people that moan that the traditional Sunday does not exist anymore – shops and attractions are open, lots of sporting events take place on Sundays and so on, but the point Jesus was making wasn’t really about the Sabbath at all. It was about the hypocrisy of forgetting why something was being done in the first place, but continuing to do it…
The rule about observing the Sabbath day was of course one of the 10 commandments, but it was a rule written for us and not for God – it was a rule to help us to take time out of our lives to make sure we focus on God – and that makes it a rule which is equally useful today.
When I was in Jerusalem we split into groups of 2 and went for a meal on the Sabbath with a family – the family I went to were lovely, but they also offered a great insight into the Sabbath – it was the day after the 18th birthday of one of the sons and he wasn’t there because he had gone out to meet friends for a meal… However a little way into our meal he returned – his friends hadn’t turned up and he couldn’t turn on his mobile phone to check where they were because it was the Sabbath…
This was just one example of things they wouldn’t do on the Sabbath – they had timer switches throughout the house which put the lights on to save them from doing it on the Sabbath, and of course the meal was cooked in an oven working completely on a timer…
It almost seems ridiculous but actually there is a degree to which it represents wonderful commitment and dedication – but I suspect that for that family the need for compassion would always still over-ride the need to observe the Sabbath day, and that was what Jesus was showing.
Ultimately the Sabbath day, as I said earlier, is a day created for our benefit, but it is a day to focus on God, and as we do that it means that we have to do the things of God, and the most important one of all is to love…
The command of Jesus to love is greater than any other – and it immediately crushes any other rule… And this is a great challenge to the Church and to each one of us constantly because it’s very easy to hide behind rules and traditions and never question them. The Church has many traditions – most of which are observed for very good reasons, but they cease to become useful when we don’t know why they’re observed… Similarly the Church makes many rules, again for good reasons very often, but if we don’t know the meaning behind those reasons then we need to examine them more closely…
Jesus called the synagogue leader a hypocrite – the leader had allowed rules to stop him acting with compassion, to stop him showing love to the woman who desperately needed help – for her, tomorrow wasn’t good enough, and Jesus understood that…
Charles Sumner was a 19th century Senator from Massachusetts who opposed slavery. He was once asked to take up the cause of a man who needed help and he answered, " I've become so busy I can no longer concern myself with individuals." And the person who asked for help replied, "Charles, that is quite remarkable. Even God hasn't reached that stage yet."
There is no rule, and no tradition or custom, that can ever be greater than the command of Jesus to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves – and to be the Church, to be a truly welcoming and open Church representing the love and compassion of Christ, then we need to get that principle right all the time – there’s a song about the Church which says,
‘If this is not a place, where tears are understood, where can I go to cry?
And if this is not a place where my spirit can take wing, where can I go to fly?
If this is not a place where my questions can be asked where shall I go to seek?
And if this is not a place where my heart cries can be heard, where shall I go to speak?
If this is not a place where tears are understood, where shall I go, where shall I go to fly ?’
May we never be constrained by rules or by traditions or by our own prejudice, but may we be always ready to greet everyone, whoever they are, friend or stranger, as if we are greeting Jesus himself. And may we never over complicate our message of the gospel of Jesus, but let everyone know, that they are children of God, and that he loves them, and us, so passionately that he was willing to let his Son die for them - and for us. AMEN
He had a thunderous voice that shook the little church. We sat toward the back. Well, that preacher got to preaching, about what I don’t know, stalking up and down the aisle of that little church preaching. It was something. After the service, we were slipping out the back door when I felt that big preacher’s hand on my shoulder. I was scared. He looked way down at me, looked me in the eye and said, “Boy, who’s your Daddy?” I didn’t have a Daddy and that’s what I told him in trembling voice.
And the preacher replied, ‘”O yes you do. You’re a child of the Kingdom, you have been bought with a price, you are a child of the King!” I was never the same after that. Preacher, for God’s sake, preach that.’
The preacher had no doubt spoken at length during the service, but this boy had no idea what he was talking about – in the end what touched him was a simple act of acceptance… from being rejected throughout his life, this preacher told the boy that he was a child of God – and his life was transformed.
It’s a great example of how we can concentrate on lots of things about rules and about tradition, but miss the whole point that actually the most important thing is to receive and feel and convey the love of God.
And in our gospel reading this morning (Luke 13:10-17), Jesus comes up against a similar problem. We are told that he was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath and was approached by a woman who had been crippled for 18 years – Jesus, doubtless moved with compassion, healed her… Now, because it was the Sabbath, the leader of the synagogue condemned his actions – telling the crowds, not Jesus himself, that there were 6 days to work, but the Sabbath day was not for work…
Jesus immediately turned angrily on the synagogue leader calling him a hypocrite and he reminded him that compassion must over-ride any rules.
There are still many people that moan that the traditional Sunday does not exist anymore – shops and attractions are open, lots of sporting events take place on Sundays and so on, but the point Jesus was making wasn’t really about the Sabbath at all. It was about the hypocrisy of forgetting why something was being done in the first place, but continuing to do it…
The rule about observing the Sabbath day was of course one of the 10 commandments, but it was a rule written for us and not for God – it was a rule to help us to take time out of our lives to make sure we focus on God – and that makes it a rule which is equally useful today.
When I was in Jerusalem we split into groups of 2 and went for a meal on the Sabbath with a family – the family I went to were lovely, but they also offered a great insight into the Sabbath – it was the day after the 18th birthday of one of the sons and he wasn’t there because he had gone out to meet friends for a meal… However a little way into our meal he returned – his friends hadn’t turned up and he couldn’t turn on his mobile phone to check where they were because it was the Sabbath…
This was just one example of things they wouldn’t do on the Sabbath – they had timer switches throughout the house which put the lights on to save them from doing it on the Sabbath, and of course the meal was cooked in an oven working completely on a timer…
It almost seems ridiculous but actually there is a degree to which it represents wonderful commitment and dedication – but I suspect that for that family the need for compassion would always still over-ride the need to observe the Sabbath day, and that was what Jesus was showing.
Ultimately the Sabbath day, as I said earlier, is a day created for our benefit, but it is a day to focus on God, and as we do that it means that we have to do the things of God, and the most important one of all is to love…
The command of Jesus to love is greater than any other – and it immediately crushes any other rule… And this is a great challenge to the Church and to each one of us constantly because it’s very easy to hide behind rules and traditions and never question them. The Church has many traditions – most of which are observed for very good reasons, but they cease to become useful when we don’t know why they’re observed… Similarly the Church makes many rules, again for good reasons very often, but if we don’t know the meaning behind those reasons then we need to examine them more closely…
Jesus called the synagogue leader a hypocrite – the leader had allowed rules to stop him acting with compassion, to stop him showing love to the woman who desperately needed help – for her, tomorrow wasn’t good enough, and Jesus understood that…
Charles Sumner was a 19th century Senator from Massachusetts who opposed slavery. He was once asked to take up the cause of a man who needed help and he answered, " I've become so busy I can no longer concern myself with individuals." And the person who asked for help replied, "Charles, that is quite remarkable. Even God hasn't reached that stage yet."
There is no rule, and no tradition or custom, that can ever be greater than the command of Jesus to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves – and to be the Church, to be a truly welcoming and open Church representing the love and compassion of Christ, then we need to get that principle right all the time – there’s a song about the Church which says,
‘If this is not a place, where tears are understood, where can I go to cry?
And if this is not a place where my spirit can take wing, where can I go to fly?
If this is not a place where my questions can be asked where shall I go to seek?
And if this is not a place where my heart cries can be heard, where shall I go to speak?
If this is not a place where tears are understood, where shall I go, where shall I go to fly ?’
May we never be constrained by rules or by traditions or by our own prejudice, but may we be always ready to greet everyone, whoever they are, friend or stranger, as if we are greeting Jesus himself. And may we never over complicate our message of the gospel of Jesus, but let everyone know, that they are children of God, and that he loves them, and us, so passionately that he was willing to let his Son die for them - and for us. AMEN
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