Sabbath Rest

Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for humankind,
and not humankind for the Sabbath’ Mark 2:27

The inheritance of the Protestant work ethic makes it difficult for many in our families, communities or country to find value in rest and yet, Sabbath rest is integral to the relationship God has with humankind. It began in the creation story itself on that seventh day when even God chose to rest and then was further established in the 10 commandments. God went even further in those ancient Hebrew laws claiming not only Sabbath rest for Israel, but for the foreigner, the servant, the livestock and even the land itself. Those Sabbath laws may not have been fully realized, but that doesn’t mean the people stopped trying.

In Jesus’ time, Sabbath rest came up again as it had become an idol; a way of differentiating who is IN and who is OUT. Religious leaders clung to the law of Sabbath to try and trick Jesus and his followers into renouncing their God and once again God, through Jesus Christ expanded the law instead of firming up those lines of demarcation. Jesus made it clear in Mark that if following Sabbath law would diminish the dignity of a human through hunger or any other means, then the human, not the law comes first.

This month at Minneola, we endeavor to remember the Sabbath rest we have been promised as a community. We limit our programming and as we enter the world again post holidays and as the calendar changes, we give each other the opportunity to simply come to worship each Sunday. So, “Come…all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and find rest” (Matthew 11:28). Give yourself and your household the gift of resting in the loving arms of the body of Christ made manifest in this place, in the very heart of God. 

May we dare to rest in the love of God through Christ Jesus,
Pr. Hannah