Sunday, June 08, 2008
Why Sabbath?
A few weeks ago in our Sabbath School class we got into a discussion regarding the Sabbath. Why do we keep the Sabbath? Why is it important?
The traditional Adventist explanation is that God commanded Sabbath observance on the 7th day and so we do it. In addition, there is the eschatological understanding which maintains that the Sabbath will be the final test for who is in and who is out of God's remnant people. However, these explanations no longer resonate with postmodern society. At least, I no longer find these reasons particularly compelling. So, why do I keep the Sabbath?
I grew up keeping the Sabbath with my Seventh-day Adventist family and the Saturday Sabbath is my cultural heritage just as much as it is for the Jews. I like the history of the Sabbath and the connection it demonstrates with our Jewish spiritual forebears. In A Day Apart, Christopher Ringwald (not an SDA) makes the point that the Sabbath offers a unique place in time for the three great monotheistic religions to come together and 'meet in the middle'. I really like the idea of the Sabbath as facilitating unity rather than a demonstration of separation as it is so often portrayed.
It seems to me that those who want to do away with the traditional Jewish Sabbath (e.g. New Covenant Christians) generally have an understanding of the 10 commandments very similar to legalistic Adventists, they view God's law as being restrictive. Instead, I believe the 10 commandments were meant to allow the Israelites the freedom to enjoy community. (Imagine camping out with a bunch of people who attempt to follow vs. break all the commandments and you'll see what I mean.) When the Sabbath commandment was given, the Israelites were fresh out from slavery and the big 10 functioned at Kohlberg's baseline level of moral development to maintain unity and foster community. The rest of the law then expands on the basic concepts and propels us forward in moral reasoning. I see this continuing in the Prophets and culminating with Jesus in the sermon on the mount which I believe pushes us to function at Kohlberg's highest level of moral reasoning. But then, just because I have been transformed by grace and begin to live based on Christ's universal principle of love, it doesn't automatically mean that I should begin to break the speed limit, give up the Sabbath, or lie. Although, it might mean that I would do one or more of those things occasionally as the most loving thing to do (e.g. My child is bleeding out from a severe trauma, do I go 55 to the nearest hospital? Absolutely not. A patient is crashing and it is 15 minutes after sundown Friday night, do I wash my hands and go home? Of course not. I think the story of David eating the shewbread in the temple is an illustration of this same concept and was used in this very way by Jesus.)
But, I digress. I think that what the Sabbath is essentially about is not an arbitrary rule to test us but a gift to give us time to enjoy relationships with God and others.
Ex-adventists I have had contact with say that they don't keep the Sabbath because Jesus is our Sabbath. I can see how Christ is the embodiment of all the anti-types in the Old Testament including the Sabbath. And, I see no reason why my enjoyment of the Sabbath has to end because it is fully embodied in Christ. Taking time to rest on the Sabbath only further enhances my appreciation of what it means to rest in grace.
There are many other facets to the Sabbath as well. For instance, many Christians, Adventists included, understand the first few chapters of Genesis as poetic theology and not literal science. Traditional adventists are terrified at what this might do to our Sabbath foundation. But, in the second recording of the Sabbath commandment (Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the reason given for remembering the Sabbath is not creation but freedom from slavery. This aspect of Sabbath keeping (social justice) really resonates with me and I think it resonates with many people, especially those with postmodern sensibilities. The weekly Sabbath was tied to the yearly Sabbaths as well as to the 49th year Jubilees in which slaves were to be set free and land was returned to the original owners to prevent hoarding. The concept of allowing people to rest, the land to rejuvenate, and wealth to be redistributed are beautiful concepts and serve as important reminders in light of global warming, resource depletion, rising food costs, increasing socioeconomic inequity, and modern day forms of slavery.
Observing Sabbath on Sunday may encompass some of these concepts, I realize that, but it does not have the same continuity that I appreciate about Saturday. In addition, my community (local Seventh-day Adventist church) keeps Saturday and so it makes sense for me to do so as well. I realize an emphasis on community means a case could be made for transitioning to Sunday worship since that is what the majority of Christians do, but I consider Jews as much fellow travelers in this journey of faith as I do Catholics and Baptists. (I know, I know, when was the last time I had community with a Jew? But for that matter if we started meeting on Sunday would I really have community with the Catholics and Baptists too?) I think community has got to be smaller in order to be a real community.
I find so much meaning in our tradition of Sabbath keeping (traditionally on the 7th day of the week) that dropping the Sabbath all together or beginning to keep the Sabbath on some other day makes as much sense to me as stopping to observe my wife's and my anniversary or deciding to celebrate it on another day. There is no legal reason I could not do either of those things, but there is a very real relational and historical reason why it would make no sense and probably would harm rather than enhance our relationship.
There are many other facets of Sabbath keeping that we could explore such as the Greek/Hebrew influences on Christianity, the lack of biblical mandate for any change in Sabbath observance, and the concepts of holy time and sacred space. Maybe we will revisit these aspects later on. For now, why do you keep the Sabbath?
The traditional Adventist explanation is that God commanded Sabbath observance on the 7th day and so we do it. In addition, there is the eschatological understanding which maintains that the Sabbath will be the final test for who is in and who is out of God's remnant people. However, these explanations no longer resonate with postmodern society. At least, I no longer find these reasons particularly compelling. So, why do I keep the Sabbath?
I grew up keeping the Sabbath with my Seventh-day Adventist family and the Saturday Sabbath is my cultural heritage just as much as it is for the Jews. I like the history of the Sabbath and the connection it demonstrates with our Jewish spiritual forebears. In A Day Apart, Christopher Ringwald (not an SDA) makes the point that the Sabbath offers a unique place in time for the three great monotheistic religions to come together and 'meet in the middle'. I really like the idea of the Sabbath as facilitating unity rather than a demonstration of separation as it is so often portrayed.
It seems to me that those who want to do away with the traditional Jewish Sabbath (e.g. New Covenant Christians) generally have an understanding of the 10 commandments very similar to legalistic Adventists, they view God's law as being restrictive. Instead, I believe the 10 commandments were meant to allow the Israelites the freedom to enjoy community. (Imagine camping out with a bunch of people who attempt to follow vs. break all the commandments and you'll see what I mean.) When the Sabbath commandment was given, the Israelites were fresh out from slavery and the big 10 functioned at Kohlberg's baseline level of moral development to maintain unity and foster community. The rest of the law then expands on the basic concepts and propels us forward in moral reasoning. I see this continuing in the Prophets and culminating with Jesus in the sermon on the mount which I believe pushes us to function at Kohlberg's highest level of moral reasoning. But then, just because I have been transformed by grace and begin to live based on Christ's universal principle of love, it doesn't automatically mean that I should begin to break the speed limit, give up the Sabbath, or lie. Although, it might mean that I would do one or more of those things occasionally as the most loving thing to do (e.g. My child is bleeding out from a severe trauma, do I go 55 to the nearest hospital? Absolutely not. A patient is crashing and it is 15 minutes after sundown Friday night, do I wash my hands and go home? Of course not. I think the story of David eating the shewbread in the temple is an illustration of this same concept and was used in this very way by Jesus.)
But, I digress. I think that what the Sabbath is essentially about is not an arbitrary rule to test us but a gift to give us time to enjoy relationships with God and others.
Ex-adventists I have had contact with say that they don't keep the Sabbath because Jesus is our Sabbath. I can see how Christ is the embodiment of all the anti-types in the Old Testament including the Sabbath. And, I see no reason why my enjoyment of the Sabbath has to end because it is fully embodied in Christ. Taking time to rest on the Sabbath only further enhances my appreciation of what it means to rest in grace.
There are many other facets to the Sabbath as well. For instance, many Christians, Adventists included, understand the first few chapters of Genesis as poetic theology and not literal science. Traditional adventists are terrified at what this might do to our Sabbath foundation. But, in the second recording of the Sabbath commandment (Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the reason given for remembering the Sabbath is not creation but freedom from slavery. This aspect of Sabbath keeping (social justice) really resonates with me and I think it resonates with many people, especially those with postmodern sensibilities. The weekly Sabbath was tied to the yearly Sabbaths as well as to the 49th year Jubilees in which slaves were to be set free and land was returned to the original owners to prevent hoarding. The concept of allowing people to rest, the land to rejuvenate, and wealth to be redistributed are beautiful concepts and serve as important reminders in light of global warming, resource depletion, rising food costs, increasing socioeconomic inequity, and modern day forms of slavery.
Observing Sabbath on Sunday may encompass some of these concepts, I realize that, but it does not have the same continuity that I appreciate about Saturday. In addition, my community (local Seventh-day Adventist church) keeps Saturday and so it makes sense for me to do so as well. I realize an emphasis on community means a case could be made for transitioning to Sunday worship since that is what the majority of Christians do, but I consider Jews as much fellow travelers in this journey of faith as I do Catholics and Baptists. (I know, I know, when was the last time I had community with a Jew? But for that matter if we started meeting on Sunday would I really have community with the Catholics and Baptists too?) I think community has got to be smaller in order to be a real community.
I find so much meaning in our tradition of Sabbath keeping (traditionally on the 7th day of the week) that dropping the Sabbath all together or beginning to keep the Sabbath on some other day makes as much sense to me as stopping to observe my wife's and my anniversary or deciding to celebrate it on another day. There is no legal reason I could not do either of those things, but there is a very real relational and historical reason why it would make no sense and probably would harm rather than enhance our relationship.
There are many other facets of Sabbath keeping that we could explore such as the Greek/Hebrew influences on Christianity, the lack of biblical mandate for any change in Sabbath observance, and the concepts of holy time and sacred space. Maybe we will revisit these aspects later on. For now, why do you keep the Sabbath?
Labels: Adventist, community, postmodernity, religion, Sabbath
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Oh what a great post you've got here. So many thoughts and agreements. I'll limit my comment to just answering your final question:
I keep the Sabbath because of tradition. I keep the Sabbath because I love this set-aside day where I actually SET-ASIDE all the burdens I carry during the week. I keep this day because I feel that it honors God and His 6 day creation. But . . .
I've been feeling that "church" isn't necessarily set up to enjoy and worship God like He might want us to. It always feels rushed, sometimes forced, and often perfunctory. I'm not sure I really know how to worship and bask in His glory in this day and I'd like to see what Sabbath rest would really mean in God's format.
Excellent post, and should I ever (hopefully never!)come to the ER on Friday night, I hope you'll be on call!
I keep the Sabbath because of tradition. I keep the Sabbath because I love this set-aside day where I actually SET-ASIDE all the burdens I carry during the week. I keep this day because I feel that it honors God and His 6 day creation. But . . .
I've been feeling that "church" isn't necessarily set up to enjoy and worship God like He might want us to. It always feels rushed, sometimes forced, and often perfunctory. I'm not sure I really know how to worship and bask in His glory in this day and I'd like to see what Sabbath rest would really mean in God's format.
Excellent post, and should I ever (hopefully never!)come to the ER on Friday night, I hope you'll be on call!
Brent, I totally agree with all of the benefits you listed that come from Sabbath observance. I truly believe that when God created the Sabbath, He knew exactly how much we would need that 24 hrs each week for rest, relaxation, fellowship, and worship and communion with Him (not necessarily in that order :) ).
I would also agree that, as you stated, "what the Sabbath is essentially about is not an arbitrary rule to test us...". So we agree on what it is not. I'm not sure that I could fully agree with your conclusion for what the Sabbath IS though. In the Deut. version of the Ten Commandments, God gives the reason they should observe (because He said so). But in the first presentation of the Law of God in Exodus 20, He tells why the Sabbath was created to begin with. We should observe the Sabbath as a remembrance of God's creative power and ultimate authority over His creation, the world. And because He said so :)
I think it is very important to remember that, according to Ex. 20:11, the Sabbath observance was instituted at creation, not at Mt. Sinai.
Actually, I would guess that all 10 of the commands written in stone existed before the fall of Adam and Eve. I'm pretty sure if Adam, for some crazy reason, had tried to murder Eve, that God would have given the same punishment He gave for taken the forbidden fruit.
In John 14:15 Christ said, "If you love me, then keep my commandments." Ex. 20:6 says that God will show love to thousands of generations that love Him and keep His commandments.
Why SHOULD we keep the Sabbath? Because we love Him.
Why DO I keep the Sabbath? Not often enough for the RIGHT reason. I'll have to work on that :)
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I would also agree that, as you stated, "what the Sabbath is essentially about is not an arbitrary rule to test us...". So we agree on what it is not. I'm not sure that I could fully agree with your conclusion for what the Sabbath IS though. In the Deut. version of the Ten Commandments, God gives the reason they should observe (because He said so). But in the first presentation of the Law of God in Exodus 20, He tells why the Sabbath was created to begin with. We should observe the Sabbath as a remembrance of God's creative power and ultimate authority over His creation, the world. And because He said so :)
I think it is very important to remember that, according to Ex. 20:11, the Sabbath observance was instituted at creation, not at Mt. Sinai.
Actually, I would guess that all 10 of the commands written in stone existed before the fall of Adam and Eve. I'm pretty sure if Adam, for some crazy reason, had tried to murder Eve, that God would have given the same punishment He gave for taken the forbidden fruit.
In John 14:15 Christ said, "If you love me, then keep my commandments." Ex. 20:6 says that God will show love to thousands of generations that love Him and keep His commandments.
Why SHOULD we keep the Sabbath? Because we love Him.
Why DO I keep the Sabbath? Not often enough for the RIGHT reason. I'll have to work on that :)
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