By the Way: The importance of the Sabbath
By Rev. Jeff Lackie on August 24, 2019.
Within a year of my ordination, I found myself dragged into a tricky conversation. I was new to Nova Scotia, and my arrival in “Canada’s Ocean Playground” coincided with the government’s decision to allow Sunday shopping. Now, I was from Ontario, where stores had been open seven days a week for years. And I committed the cardinal sin (in a church meeting) of declaring the new Nova Scotia rules to be NO. BIG. DEAL. I had some explaining to do then, but I stand by my comment. Whatever else might be wrong in the church – and the list is long – Sunday shopping is not the root cause. “Now wait just a minute…” I can hear your arguments already. “We need to honour this sacred trust…the Bible says…the Ten Commandments – the account of Creation…Mr. Lackie, would you have us abandon Scripture?” I refer you to Jesus, an habitual law breaker where Sabbath keeping is concerned, and a generous and gracious interpreter where the strict “letter of the law of Moses” cases are concerned. “There are six days of the week on which work ought to be done…” (Luke 13:14); thus says the leader of the local congregation after Jesus act of compassion liberates a woman from a crippling condition. The assumption is that Sabbath days were for the worship of God and not for the pursuit of anything like labour. The modern arguments about church decline are linked to this very problem. We just need to honour God by honouring the commandments, especially (in this case) the fourth. Now in Luke’s gospel, the authorities try to make their case against Jesus on the spot. Such behaviour will surely result in nothing but trouble. We must mind the Word and keep the Law. They try to make a quick and negative example of Jesus act of mercy. Does Jesus call them out? You bet he does! He does his best to shame them into believing that crippled women should be treated at least as well as their farm animals (Luke 13: 15-16) Jesus reconstructs the notion of Sabbath keeping as often as he needs to – in full view of those who are most offended – and in this particular case offers pointed context for his critics. Jesus declares that the Sabbath is a day of liberation, and so he liberates this woman – this daughter of Abraham – and drives one more nail into the coffin of the old religious order. So do I really care about the way the Christian Sabbath has become just another day in the economic engine of our culture? Ah, that is a much more compelling question, because it leads me in the direction of compassion. It leads me to Jesus. I care about the way our seven-day-per-week economy puts unrealistic burdens on folks who are required to work for minimum wage – and makes unsustainable demands on people who would benefit most from a “day of rest.” I care about the liberating act of a loving God who calls into question all manner of “religious assumptions” by placing the witness of Jesus against the law-keepers and the tradition-worshippers of the day; and I rejoice that when the powers of his time tried to silence Jesus by the violence of crucifixion, God deepened the mystery and remade the Sabbath by liberating Jesus from the grave. Rev. Jeff Lackie is minister of Word & Sacrament, St. John’s Presbyterian Church. 12-11
