A Message from Pastor Shawn: “Sabbath”

Feb 2022

The First Baptist Church of Redlands TAPESTRY

Woven Together In Love: Colossians 2:2

Issue No. 2

Sabbath

A Message from Pastor Shawn

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

Exodus 20:8-11 NRSV

Most of us would like to think that we do a pretty good job of following the Ten Commandments. And yet, the commandment that we seem to have the most trouble with is the one about keeping the Sabbath. I know it is certainly one that I have trouble with! Jesus clarified this commandment somewhat, ultimately pointing out that the people were not created for the Sabbath but that the Sabbath was created for people. As a part of the creation story we see that God establishes a day for rest in the week. We can debate all day whether or not God needed to rest, but I think that there is no doubt that we do. And yet we often live as if we don’t need to rest.

Keeping Sabbath is something that many of us are not good at. But we need to get better. Our bodies and minds are designed to rest. When we don’t intentionally set aside time for rest, our bodies and minds eventually react, usually at times that are inconvenient or unhealthy. So what do we need to do to put rest into our routine? We need to be intentional. We need to schedule it in. I don’t think that it necessarily needs to be on Saturday or Sunday, though there is something to the idea that the whole community rests at the same time. It may be difficult to take a whole day to rest each week. So we begin by setting aside a whole day once a month, possibly. Or we can take baby steps and set aside a period of time each day. Maybe you will sit in a particular place in your house or yard where you will not be distracted or disturbed. Maybe you will go for a walk around your neighborhood or in the local hills. And what to do during that time? Do something that allows you to remember and realize that God is God: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). Reading and meditating on Scripture, praying, reading a spiritually uplifting book, or even just doing nothing, can all be practices of Sabbath.

For me as a pastor, I find that it is important that I take a day off each week, where I do not do the things of work. I take my vacation time as well as time for continuing education and study. All of these are forms of Sabbath for me.

As we are early in a new year, let us all think of ways that we can practice Sabbath in our lives. Let us take the time to be still and know that God is God.

Grace and peace in Christ, Pastor Shawn