In the Hebrew Bible, God gives the gift of the sabbath because people need rest and need to know their dignity as God’s liberated creatures. One reason for the commandment to keep the sabbath is to reflect how God rested on the 7th day of creation. Another reason is that just as God liberated the people at the exodus, we need that space simply to be human together (not just to be productive, for instance).
This weekend, we will hear how the prophet Isaiah says that the sabbath is about the community’s needs being met — feeding the hungry, helping with healing, finding unity of purpose. Isaiah 58 clearly says the purpose of sabbath is for our community to have shalom, to bend toward wholeness. We will also hear in the gospel (Luke 13) how people were upset when Jesus brought healing to woman who’d been bent over for years on the sabbath. Jesus makes clear that sabbath is not a set of rules as much as a focus on healing.
In our modern culture, it is not easy to make space for sabbath. We have a 24/7 mentality that things should always be open, always be accessible. Yet for healing and wholeness and liberation to happen, we need spaces for rest. Space where we can simply be. How do you find sabbath? What helps you find healing in community with others? How can St. Timothy’s sabbath be a force for healing in our world?
People of St. Timothy, thanks for your commitment to sabbath as a way of opening yourselves to God’s liberating love. See you soon!
Three Holy Days
In our tradition, we make space on Maundy Thursday to remember central parts of our faith story. We hear about the...
