April 7, 2016

“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…” Deuteronomy 5:12-14

“What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” (Martin Luther’s explanation to the Third Commandment – Small Catechism)

“But to grasp a Christian meaning for the simple as to what God requires in this commandment, note that we keep holy days not for the sake of intelligent and learned Christians (for they have no need of it [holy days]), but first of all for bodily causes and necessities, which nature teaches and requires; for the common people, man-servants and maid-servants, who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.

Secondly, and most especially, that on such day of rest (since we can get no other opportunity) freedom and time be taken to attend divine service, so that we come together to hear and treat of God’s Word, and then to praise God, to sing and pray.” (Martin Luther’s explanation to the Third Commandment — Large Catechism)

Keeping the Sabbath can have two distinct meanings. It can mean to make sure that you are attending a worship service on a regular basis, no matter what day of the week. As long as you are regularly attending worship, you are meeting part of this commandment. But it also carries the intent for each one of us…people… who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.” In other words, Sabbath time is time spent resting, refreshing, and finding ways to recharge our batteries. As a pastor, I know what it is like to feel stressed and tired most of the time. We all have to carve out time in our days, and our weeks, to have some Sabbath – that is outside of our worship time.

Pastor Dave