An
Invitation
To
Rest
Date:
6/22/2008
Exodus
20.8-11
Deuteronomy
5.12-15
Luke
13.10-17
Series:
The
Ten
Commandments:
Old
Words
For
A
New
Day
Delivered
by:
Dr.
William
M.
Smutz
When
I
was
a
kid
the
only
store
open
on
a
Sunday
was
Katz’s
Drugstore.
Everything
else
was
closed
–
the
grocery
store,
the
gas
station,
the
mall,
the
hardware
store,
the
little
shops
on
I
remember
once
asking
Mom
on
a
Sunday
why
all
the
stores
were
closed,
and
she
said
it’s
the
Blue
Laws,
dear.
By
the
time
I
was
old
enough
to
understand
that
the
laws
she
was
talking
about
weren’t
just
written
on
a
piece
of
blue
paper,
they
had
already
started
to
fade
away.
I
think
the
grocery
stores
were
first;
followed
quickly
by
all
the
stores
in
the
mall,
and
then
it
was
a
flood
–
nearly
every
business
was
open
seven
days
a
week…..
It
was
several
more
years
before
I
made
the
connection
between
Blue
Laws
and
the
Fourth
Commandment….
And
when
I
did
figure
that
out,
I
couldn’t
understand
why
one
of
God’s
commandments
had
to
be
protected
by
civil
laws,
and
why
when
we
went
to
the
grocery
store
on
Sunday,
I
would
see
so
many
people
I
knew
from
church!
The
fourth
commandment
about
observing
Sabbath
and
keeping
it
holy,
seems
to
fly
in
the
face
of
modern
life,
where
time
is
money
and
everything
moves
at
the
speed
of
business,
or
the
click
of
a
computer
mouse.
And
yet,
if
we
go
by
the
number
of
words
it
takes
to
express
each
commandment,
a
fair
argument
can
be
made
that
the
fourth
commandment
is
the
most
important
one!
The
fourth
commandment
is
God’s
reminder
that
human
activity
is
always
subordinate
to
divine
expectation
–
God
comes
first…..period!
The
fourth
commandment
is
God’s
invitation
to
rest,
so
that
we
have
both
the
time
to
relax,
and
the
energy
to
acknowledge
the
priority
position
God
expects
in
our
lives.
But
when
it
comes
to
this
commandment,
we
can
be
our
own
worst
enemies,
can’t
we?
For
when
we
constantly
fill
our
days
with
work,
or
with
play,
or
with
endless
activity,
we
quickly
come
to
believe
that
we
are
responsible
for
our
achievements
in
life;
that
we
do
it
all
on
our
own.
We
start
to
assume
that
all
we
have,
and
all
we
are,
is
the
result
of
our
labors……
Forgetting
that
God
is
in
charge
of
creation;
and
that
life,
and
all
that
goes
with
is,
is
always
a
gift
from
God.
When
we
forget
this
reality;
when
we
forget
that
God
is
in
charge,
we
fall
into
the
trap
of
measuring
ourselves
by
the
world’s
standards
instead
of
God’s
expectations.
When
we
forget
that
God
is
in
charge,
we
buy
into
the
mindset
of
greater
reward
for
endless
work;
we
ignore
the
cost
and
the
chaos
such
practices
brings
to
our
lives;
we
ignore
God’s
work
in
creation,
on
our
behalf,
to
defeat
chaos.
Keeping
the
fourth
commandment
begins
with
remembering
who
is
in
charge!
In
addition
to
reminding
us
that
God
is
in
charge,
the
Sabbath
Commandment
also
reminds
us
that
we
need
to
have
our
nephesh
restored
once
a
week!
In
the
second
creation
story,
found
in
the
second
chapter
of
Genesis,
we
are
told
that
God
formed
humans
from
the
dust
of
the
ground,
and
then
filled
us
with
the
breath
of
life.
The
Hebrew
word
for
‘breath
of
life’
is
nephesh.
It
can
mean
‘air’,
but
it
is
best
translated
as
‘vital
life
force’;
something
that
we
can’t
live
without.
God
filled
us
full
of
nephesh
at
creation,
but
nephesh
only
lasts
so
long.
Daily
work
and
living
exhausts
the
nephesh
within
us,
beats
it
out
of
us,
sucks
the
very
life
from
within
us…..
And,
lest
we
perish,
the
Lord
had
decreed
that
every
seventh
day
is
a
Sabbath…..
So
that
through
rest
we
can
get
filled
back
up
with
nephesh;
so
that
our
lives
can
be
vital,
and
meaningful,
and
holy.
We
don’t
live
long
without
it;
we
can’t
make
it
ourselves;
and
there
is
nothing,
absolutely
nothing,
we
can
do
to
earn
it.
Like
the
grace
we
receive
in
Jesus
Christ,
nephesh
comes
only
as
a
gift
from
God;
and
comes
only
through
the
rest
and
down
time
of
Sabbath!
Now,
I
realize
that
in
many
respects
I
am
preaching
to
the
choir
today.
After
all,
you’re
the
ones
who
took
the
time
and
made
the
effort
to
be
here….
to
observe
Sabbath
when
so
many
others
did
not…..
And
yet,
if
this
hour
is
it
for
the
day;
if
this
hour
is
all
we’re
going
to
devote
to
keeping
Sabbath;
if
this
hour
is
the
only
time
today
we’re
giving
to
physical
and
spiritual
rest;
if
this
hour
is
all
we’re
giving
God
to
refill
us
with
a
week’s
worth
of
nephesh…
It
is
not
enough!
Sabbath
is
our
invitation,
well,
actually
we’re
commanded,
to
rest
and
remember
God’s
rest
in
creation,
and
God’s
releasing
our
ancestors
in
the
faith
from
the
hell
of
never
having
time
off
while
they
were
slaves
in
Sabbath
is
also
when
God
expects
us
to
let
those
who
work
for
us,
those
who
serve
us,
get
their
nephesh
back
too
–
even
if
they
worship
a
different
God!
In our exploration of the commandments thus far, we’ve talked about how the commandments are boundaries for our behavior… Everything up to this point is acceptable, but not beyond… we can do this, but not that…. The Sabbath commandment is a boundary for us that says God is in charge; a boundary that says we require physical and spiritual rest each week, if we are to be the faithful and healthy people God created us to be; a boundary that says without a refill of nephesh we will fall exhausted, and not be able to serve our God.
Now,
one
of
the
realities
that
many
of
us
have
to
struggle
with
when
it
comes
to
the
Sabbath
commandment,
is
that
we
work
on
Sunday….
That
is
what
our
job
requires
of
us,
what
the
world
requires
of
us…
But
this
reality
does
not
excuse
us
from
Sabbath
obligations
and
expectations.
We
still
need
the
rest
that
God
has
woven
into
the
fabric
of
creation….
We
just
have
to
find
it
on
a
different
day!
As
hard
as
this
may
be,
it’s
on
us!
Our
spiritual
parent
in
the
faith,
John
Calvin,
says
that
the
Sabbath
is
about
both
physical
and
spiritual
rest…
That
“to
hallow
the
Sabbath
is
not
merely
to
refrain
from
work,
but
to
take
positive
action
that
makes
the
day
holy.”
(Childs,
p.
70)
So
what
is
the
positive
action
that
each
of
us
needs
to
take;
where
do
we
need
to
make
Sabbath
in
our
lives?
What
part
or
parts
of
our
lives
do
we
need
to
change
in
order
to
rest?
I
think
we
should
each
pick
one
or
two
areas
of
our
life
that
we’re
going
to
work
on
this
coming
week.
Perhaps
it
is
time
for
physical
rest.
Perhaps
it
is
time
to
pray
for
the
child
or
parent
about
whom
we’re
worried.
Perhaps
it
is
giving
God
the
time
to
beat
back
the
chaos
that
threatens
to
overwhelm
our
lives;
giving
God
time
to
refill
us
with
nephesh.
Whatever
it
is,
let
each
of
us
embrace
Sabbath,
both
this
day
and
this
week
as
divine
gift;
as
an
invitation
to
rest;
and
as
a
huge
first
step
toward
allowing
creation
and
our
lives
to
be
what
God
intends
them
to
be.
Amen!!!
Bibliography
Childs,
Brevard,
Canonical
Theology
Harrelson,
Walther,
The
Ten
Commandments
And
human
Rights,
Overtures
to
Biblical
Theology