We live in such a fast-paced, often harried, world. We are constantly running someplace to get something done. Driving to work I am amazed daily at the drivers who swerve in and out of lanes, exceeding the speed limits, only to get one or two car lengths ahead of me. At those moments I wonder what is so urgent that they are willing to risk their safety and that of those sharing the road with them. Often, after suggesting that some folks could benefit from taking a rest from their work of caregiving, I am met with responses like, “Oh, I don’t have time for that!” And the stress builds and with it tension, anxiety, and weariness. It would not be surprising to hear someone say, “Rest? I’m too tired to rest!”

The scripture had something to say about that in its many references to sabbath rest. Forget for a moment that we are, in fact, commanded by God to observe sabbath rest, and consider why we are so commanded. Embedded in the Ten Commandments is the admonition to: “Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy.” (Exodus 20:8, CEB) It appears that sabbath rest isn’t established to give us a 1-day-in-7-vacation, a time to go fishing or read a book. Though we may do those things in the midst of sabbath rest, God’s purpose for us to rest is to honor him and to demonstrate our total dependence on him. Sabbath rest is about an attitude that says not only don’t I have to do everything to sustain my life, I can’t.

Let’s not forget that God took a sabbath on the seventh day, too. Referring to that, Walter Brueggmann wrote,

That divine rest on the seventh day of creation has made clear (a) that YHWH is not a workaholic, (b) that YHWH is not anxious about the full functioning of creation, and (c) that the well-being of creation does not depend on endless work.
A frantic seven-day a week schedule makes it difficult, if not impossible to recognize and honor our utter dependence upon God for all that we have and all that we are.

That is why Jesus responded the way he did in today’s Lenten scripture from John’s Gospel. As was the case many times, Jesus had just gotten into a controversy with religious leaders because he healed someone on the sabbath. The leaders were angry because in their minds this healing constituted work which was, by law, forbidden. Jesus, on the other hand, wondered how this healing – which clearly acknowledged a dependence on God for life itself – could be a bad thing worthy of such hostility. So, he said to them:

I did one work, and you were all astonished. Because Moses gave you the commandment about circumcision … you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man can be circumcised on the Sabbath without breaking Moses' Law, why are you angry with me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? (7:21-23, CEB)

The leaders had lost the purpose of the sabbath. For them it was a law to be followed. Period. Jesus did not lose sight of the purpose of the sabbath. It was intentionally taking time to recognize that we need God and that God will always protect and care for us, that we can’t do it on our own.

This Lent, accept this invitation to rediscover the riches and wonder of sabbath rest. We are not powerless to alter our schedules and to slow down the pace. Let’s find ways to intentionally set aside sabbath time to rest our bodies and spirits and to celebrate our total dependence on God whose love, power, and mercy daily care for us.