some thoughts on Sabbath

The previous entry raised questions about Sabbath. Before I go further, I must emphasize that I am a novice at Sabbath-keeping; it is only in the last year or so that I have made a serious effort to be faithful in this, and I still fail very often.

I was (and remain) behind schedule in my preparation of the Grand Piéce Symphonique for its performance next month – four and a half weeks from now -- and I had the opportunity to finish fingering it last Thursday, which is the day that I try to observe as a Sabbath. Instead, I laid the Franck aside, and had a fine Day of Rest.

This Sunday's Gospel in the Revised Common Lectionary is St. Matthew 5:21-37, wherein our Lord speaks about several of the Commandments: they are not so simple to obey as they seem at first glance, for the intents of the heart matter just as much as overt actions. Trees of the Field addresses this splendidly here.

It seems to me that all of the Ten Commandments are at root questions of faith. It is right that it should be so, for justification is by faith, not by the works of the law – not even in the time before Christ. The law is simply a schoolmaster to teach us faith (Galatians 3:24 – 4:7).

“Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day” (BCP p. 318). The test of faith in this commandment is obvious: Will I get the work done? Even in “earing time and in harvest” (Exodus 34:21)? Do I believe that the work is God's and not mine?

The Sabbath is almost always mentioned in connection not only with oneself, but with “thy son, thy daughter, thy manservant, thy maidservant, thy cattle, and the stranger that is within thy gates” (c.f. Exodus 20:10). Taking a day of rest for oneself is no Sabbath if one's manner of life is such as to force others to work (c.f. Isaiah 58), and the American way of life does just that. We demand convenient shopping opportunities, service, and entertainment seven days a week, and someone has to do the work. This comes back to the same question of faith: Will the work get done? Will our quarterly profit statement satisfy the upper management and stockholders? If I close my store while my competitor stays open, how can I stay in business?

In our area, there is a relatively small state-wide grocery chain that does indeed close on Sunday, while all of its competitors stay open. I have spoken with some of their employees, past and present, who appreciate this above anything else that the company does – and consider it indicative of the company's respect for its employees.

There is another test, which the Pharisees failed: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (St. Mark 2:27). Sabbath-keeping can become just another task, an arduous one hedged about with restrictions. As with the commandments concerning murder, adultery, and swearing falsely addressed in St. Matthew 5, Jesus forced his listeners by his actions and teaching to look again at the commandment of the Sabbath. It was not a list of regulations; it was a gracious gift. It was a proclamation of liberty to the captives, beginning with the people whom he healed on the Sabbath, and a foretaste of the everlasting rest which is promised to the people of God (c.f. Hebrews 4).

The same two temptations that attach to the Sabbath also attach to the Daily Office and other forms of disciplined prayer, which are “little Sabbaths” through the course of the day. On the one hand, we are tempted to think that we do not have time for them, especially on the busiest of days (when, ironically, we most need to be in contact with God), and on the other hand, the Offices can become a burden instead of a blessing, especially for those bound to them by monastic rule.

It would be instructive to work through the rest of the Ten Commandments and consider how they test one's faith, sometimes in subtle ways. Not surprisingly, the most direct test of faith is in the “first and great commandment” (BCP p. 324). To “love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind?” Too often, the children of Israel wanted to love the LORD their God, but they hedged their bets with a bit of devotion to Moloch or Baal on the side. The prophets compared this to adultery (e.g., Ezekiel 23). Too often, we do the same. What if the materialists (including many clergy) are right – there is nothing beyond what we can see with the eyes of science? What if Jesus was just another rabbi, and his bones lie hidden in a grave somewhere? We have a handful of teachings, filtered through the early Christian communities and Gospel accounts. We have the institutional church, which is more of an argument against Christianity than for it. All the rest, in this view, is based on wishful thinking and the delusions of Mary Magdalene, Paul, and a handful of others, none of them reliable scientific or historic observers. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (I Corinthians 15:19). No wonder many of us try to hedge our bets by limiting the scope of our Christianity and, in effect, serving other gods in various aspects of our lives.

But love “believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (I Corinthians 13:7). Because it depends upon love, there is no hedging of this bet, as there was no way for the children of Israel to hedge their bets. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15).