READ | SERMON NOTES
Summary l We cannot talk about theology on work without having a theology of rest. As seen in the beginning of Genesis, God ordained both work and rest.
There is a wide spectrum of understanding of the Sabbath day of rest and how it is implemented. In Jesus’ time, many sects and rabbis had their interpretations of the Sabbath. It became a burden for the people, so Jesus explained the spirit of the Sabbath using Mark 2:27-28.
A guiding question would be “What would the Lord of the Sabbath do?”.
Rest from work:
- Loving God
Our discipline of Sabbath rest from work is a discipline of loving God.
The people of the covenant understood that the Sabbath rest was a commitment that they made when God freed them. Deuteronomy 6:5, a creed an observant Jew would recite every morning, was translated into the laws. When they followed the law, they were trying to be holy because it helped them to align with God’s purposes. They loved God by embracing the commandments of God.
In Exodus 20, God gave them a model of work and rest to follow. They understood Sabbath observance as imitating God. On that day, they sacrificed income to rest from work in obedience to what God had instituted. Trusting and honouring God, they rested from work to be with the Father. The original word for Sabbath comes from stopping work. Through observing the Sabbath, we learn to love Him with our lives and worship Him.
How we implement the Sabbath differs one from another. We need to ask ourselves “What would the Lord of the Sabbath do?” and if our lives glorify God.
- Loving Ourselves
Our discipline of Sabbath rest from work is a discipline of loving ourselves.
In Exodus 20:8-11, we are told to rest. It has to do with our work-life balance, finding me-time to rest, renew, and have pleasure, timeout for our body and soul, and time for our friends and family. God’s commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3); rather, they serve to guide and prosper us and give us a life filled with joy, abundance, and fulfillment, as desired by God. The commandments in the Bible are similar to that of a car designer’s instruction manual. It is for our well-being.
God desires sacred margins and rhythm in our work life for proper rest of our body, soul, and spirit. We need to ask ourselves how we would honour that because perception of sufficient rest differ among individuals.
- Loving Our Neighbour
Our discipline of Sabbath rest from work is a discipline of loving our neighbour.
By honouring and observing the Sabbath, as highlighted in Exodus 20:10, we cultivate a culture that impacts our homes, workplaces, and spheres of influence, reflecting God’s heart toward the weak, needy, powerless, and undeserving. God wants us to honour the Sabbath as an act of justice and mercy towards our neighbours, recognising the importance of their rest.
When Deuteronomy’s version of the 10 commandments referred to the fourth commandment, it reminded Israelites not to forget the oppression they faced under the Pharaohs. Therefore, the reason for stopping work and implementing it for our neighbour has to do with being humane.
For those needing less rest, loving our neighbours is part of honouring the Sabbath. We foster a culture that honours their need for rest, me-time, and time with family and friends.
Our theology of work needs to take into consideration our theology of rest. Each one of us has to work out how we are going to honour and glorify God with it.
Our discipline of Sabbath rest from work is our discipline of the following:
- loving God
Imitate God in rest and use it as a consecrated time of worship and service. - loving ourselves
Draw sacred rhythms and margins so that we observe rest for our body, soul, and spirit daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. - loving our neighbour
Develop a culture in our area of influence and this blesses our neighbour.
In Matthew 22:37, 39-40, Jesus emphasises the spirit of the Old Testament: loving the Lord and loving our neighbour as ourselves. Honouring and observing the fourth commandment aligns with this Old Testament spirit.
(Sermon notes by Joy Lim)
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- In your context, how would a God-honouring day’s schedule look like?
- How do I ‘recharge’ from my work stress? What are some daily, weekly, monthly, yearly margins/ sacred rhythms I can make for my life?
- Discuss the possible outcomes when Sabbath rest is honoured/not honoured at home or place of work.
