The Way of Rest and Reflection / Luke 6:1–11 / Adam Southwood

I wonder if you figured out what that best unopened gift is. God rests on the seventh day. He finishes his work. He rests. He blesses the seventh day, makes it holy, and in doing so, gifts us Sabbath. Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word, Shabbat, which simply means to stop or cease or be done. At its most basic level, Sabbath is about stopping ordinary work in order to rest before God. [00:07:32] (37 seconds)  #SabbathIsAGift

So, technically, a no go for David, but there are two key points I want to note here. The first being human need is more important than a religious ritual. David needed to eat to live. And secondly is that Jesus declares that he is lord of of the Sabbath. This isn't just some throwaway comment. This is a direct claim to who he is. Jesus is saying that he has the authority to interpret the Sabbath because he is the lord. [00:12:56] (37 seconds)  #JesusIsLordOfSabbath

``And Jesus is onto it. He he knows what they're thinking. Go and stand up in front of everyone, he says boldly, taking a stand, making a bit of a scene. This is where I like to imagine things might get a little dramatic. He turns eyeballs the pharisees and says to them, stretch out your hand. And the man does, and he's healed. Everyone probably got up and cheered. I imagine after a bit of a spectacle like that, there would have been some commotion. And, understandably, the religious leaders are extremely upset, and they begin to scheme again. Legalism to the max. Missing the heart of Sabbath completely turning Sabbath into burden rather than blessing. [00:15:36] (51 seconds)  #StandForHealing

So here we see some of the things that we tend to think about Sabbath. Firstly, to stop. We know the definition of Shabbat is to stop, to cease, or be done. Interestingly, I think this is the very thing that we can't quite seem to do. Sunday afternoon rolls around, and we do anything but cease. We catch up on email. We plan and prep for the week. We try and get some extra work done to do some more chores around the house, maybe some cheeky doom scrolling. And though we might not technically be at work on a Sunday afternoon, many of us never seem to stop working. And the truth is Sabbath doesn't get broken by doing bad things. It gets crowded out by doing very reasonable ones. [00:17:52] (50 seconds)  #ProtectYourSabbath

Number two, worship. We see Jesus intentionally making time for the sacred assembly, and god makes it very clear here. And for many of us, attending church is a core part of how we understand and keep Sabbath. The third element that we can glean from this Leviticus 23 passage is to rest. The seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest. I think for many of us, rest is what we think we do when we finally stop, when we finally get some sleep or finally do something pseudo relaxing. Now don't get me wrong. Sleep is important. I think getting your full hours is a great way to help keep your Sabbath, but that's not the full picture. Sabbath rest is something greater. [00:18:42] (54 seconds)  #WorshipAndRest

Sabbath rest is more than physical. It's rest for the body, mind, soul, and spirit. It's rest from worry or want. It's rest from scattered emotions. It's rest from our hurried pace of life. Rest from busyness. You see, rest is an act of resistance. It's a way of pushing back against the constant pressure to do more and to have more. And with our bodies, we're saying enough. Enough work. Work matters, but it's not everything. Enough stuff. Possessions aren't bad, but we possibly already have more than we need. [00:20:09] (47 seconds)  #RestIsResistance

Sabbath helps to break our addiction to accomplishment and accumulation. We just stop, practice gratitude, enjoy the life that God has already given us. It's not easy, especially in a culture that constantly monetizes restlessness. But every week, Sabbath becomes our line in the sand. [00:20:56] (31 seconds)  #StopTheHustle

And I think to some extent, this is probably how we have grown up understanding Sabbath, but what I think we often miss is this fourth element, delight. When God made this world, he sat back on the seventh day. He saw what he had made, and he said it is very good. In fact, beyond ceasing and resting, Shabbat also means to delight. When we delight in this world, we're focusing on what is very good. We curate our view of the world, and we notice what is good and beautiful and true. And as we delight in creation, we delight in the creator himself. [00:21:35] (53 seconds)  #DelightInCreation