Christians and Sabbath

Come to me and I will give you rest (Matt 11:28)

So today’s post is actually me working through a response to a friend, but I thought it would make for interesting food for thought especially if I get input or well thought out rebuttal from my reader(s). The question  actually came out of a long dialogue about Torah/Law and what Christians should be following, but towards the end our conversation became focused on Sabbath rest. The actual question he left me with was not as simple as “Should Christians obey the Sabbath?” but rather pointedly posed like, “Since Sabbath is a 'commandment' don’t you think it grieves God that Christians do not follow the Sabbath?” 

My thoughts on Torah and Sabbath have been main themes in many of my posts over the years, but I did need to stop and be thoughtful about this response. I believe the Torah was never an arbitrary set of rules for Israel to follow, but in many ways were there to set Israel apart and stand in support of what creation was supposed to be in the midst of a world “hell-bent” on undoing itself.

Sabbath was no different in this regard as it was an economic practice that stopped the practice of making 24/7 producers out of people which is a caustic exploitation of life for the personal gain of a Pharaoh. After the Hebrews got out from under the thumb of such a ruler and allow God to lead them, they find a God who does not need them to produce endlessly, but rather rest in the truth that people are woven into the fabric of the cosmos as reflections of its Creator and participators in the unfolding work of creation.

So, do I think it grieves God that Christians do not obey the Sabbath? No, or at least no more than it grieved God that the Hebrew slaves were not "obeying" it prior to leaving Egypt. What I think grieves God is social structures and economic systems that make people into slaves of production and debt and stops each of us from being what we were meant to be: a people at rest in God’s rest that can embody a neighborly economy and culture.[1]  When we are at rest, we are at peace and can thus give rest and peace not just to ourselves and homes, but to our neighbors and to the larger extent our world.

Because we do not live in such a culture it is not realistic to believe that everyone can participate in Sabbath rest and they are by no means grieving God, but the world of economic inequalities that requires this of anyone, especially weighing down those struggling to live, does live at odds with God. So as Christians if you can participate in the rest that gives rest to others, then by all means do it. But, it is because the nature of acquisition has created an environment that erodes the human essence that becomes the reason that we stand against it. Now this is not just a "social justice" diatribe but is what it means to live in communion with God. Thus we now “work” toward NOT participating in the old ways of greed and exploitation but participate in the new creation where God is provider and the needs of each other are more important than our greed. 

So I will end with this, commandments always need the context of God's Spirit living within the human ethos otherwise they become something to entrap each other with, which is the opposite of their function.

[1] While I don’t believe I quoted anyone directly this whole line of thinking is heavily influenced by Walter Brueggemann and Terence Fretheim. And yes, this dovetails nicely with my last post.