A Sermon preached on August 25, 2019, Proper 16 at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden
Isaiah 58: 9b-14, Luke
13: 10 – 17
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when
you think of the Sabbath? I expect it is the idea of a day of rest. This is not wrong. It is because God rested on the
seventh day that God directs God’s people to rest (Exodus 31:17). The word
sabbath actually comes from the Hebrew verb for “rest from labor.” We all need rest;
we can’t work 24/7 – at least not for long. This doesn’t mean you have to lie in
bed all day – coming to church is also a form of rest from labor, doing
something different, in this case giving time to God. And I’m glad that Sunday
is still a relatively special day in Germany and that many normal things do not
happen. It allows us to spend time with friends and family, to read or go for a
walk or outing, to recharge our batteries – both the physical and the spiritual
ones.
Both of today’s readings – Isaiah and Luke – are about what the Sabbath
is for. But their focus is different. According to Isaiah (58:13) we are to honor
this day by not going our own ways, not serving our own interests, and not pursuing
our own affairs. At the beginning of the passage he makes clear what we should
be doing instead: “remove the yoke, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of
evil, … offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted.”
(58:9-10) In other words, seeking to be loving, liberating and life-giving. Rest
is good, but if an opportunity or a need to love, liberate or give new life
comes along, go for it!
Jesus does. The opportunity or a need is his case was the woman bent double.
He heals her even though it is the Sabbath day, supposedly solely a day of rest.
That is at least the interpretation of the leader of the synagogue who tries to
turn the crowd against Jesus: “There are six days on which work ought to be
done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day,” he says
(Luke 13:14) But Jesus will have none of this. This work he says, the works of compassion
are not only permitted, but encouraged. If we can untie an animal to give them something
to drink on the Sabbath, then surely, we can liberate a human being from pain, shame,
and exclusion on this day and any day. And so, as a result of Jesus’ action, the
woman is made straight, God is praised, and all the people rejoice! That is a
good Sabbath observance.
But there is another aspect to the concept of sabbath rest that I want
to mention today. It’s not directly part of these passages, but it relates to the
theme of Creation care that I mentioned in my weekly email. The Season of
Creation, celebrated by Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and Anglican Churches
around the world begins next Sunday Sept. 1 and runs through to the Feast Day
of St. Francis on Oct. 4. Caring for Creation means being willing to protect
and to renew this planet and all who call it home. Creation and Sabbath are closely
connected. God rests on the seventh day to take time to observe and enjoy all
that God has created. When the Sabbath commandment is introduced, God makes
clear that it applies to animals too. (Deut. 5:14) And with the concept of the
sabbath year, once every seven years, the concept of rest is extended to the
whole agricultural and economic system that is to have a sabbath, a respite
from exploitation … basically from us human beings pursuing only our own interests.
The world could really do with a vacation, that is true: a rest from
the relentless exploitation and pollution with toxins, CO2, and plastic and many
other things that first impact the fish and birds and insects and other creatures
– but that will eventually kill us too. Sure, it was easier (but by no means
easy) for an agricultural, geographically limited society such as ancient
Israel to take a sabbath year, than it is for today’s global and technological
society. And just stopping all activity for one year in every seven is not possible. But we can
and must change our global, human lifestyle if we are to survive. Greta
Thunberg, the Swedish climate change activist is taking a sabbatical year as Isaiah describes
it: not serving her own, but all our interests, and not pursuing her own but
all our affairs and I’m sure the Lord will delight in this. Greta is of course privileged;
she has parents who are wealthy enough to finance her journeys and her sabbatical
year. But this is positive privilege, using it to the benefit of all. Most of
us are equally privileged and therefore equally able to turn a personal advantage
into a delight for the Lord.
God also instructs God’s people to keep the sabbath holy as a perpetual
sign of the covenant between God and us. It is the Lord’s Day, and God is rightly
our focus. But God has given us work to do. To act as stewards of God’s creation,
to respect and care for all human beings, all of whom are made in God’s image, simply
to look beyond our own immediate interests and affairs both on this, God’s holy
day, and every day.
Amen.
