on 24 September 2024
Dear all at IPC,
We are back into term. The kids’ first day photographs seem to be a distant memory, and ministry activities are up and running. The leaves are just beginning to turn, and nights are drawing in. Tiredness seems to be ever present; and just about now, increases. I think living in a city like London, that can be heightened with people having to commute and long hours. How do we keep fresh?
One of the main answers the Bible gives you is, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy” (Exodus 20:8, Deut. 5:12). There are feasts in the Old Testament, but not holidays. There are no weekends in the Bible. The rhythm of life was 6 days you shall labour and 1 day rest. It is hard-wired into creation and humanity. God took the Sabbath day as a pattern for ours (Genesis 2:1-3).
Of course, rest in Scripture is a rich biblical theme. To truly keep the Sabbath means believing and trusting the Lord of the Sabbath – Jesus Christ (Mt 12:1. Mk 2:23, Lk 6:1). It means resting from our own works and trusting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. It is to recognise that rest can only truly be found in Christ, by Christ, through Christ. The offer of the gospel is, “Come unto me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), and ultimately we look forward to that eternal rest – the Sabbath that is still to come. We mustn’t be content with outward conformity, but actually have hearts that receive God’s word, so we enter into his rest (Hebrews 4:6,7).
That new age that Christ ushered in when he rose from the dead has begun, but we’re not there in entirety yet. This life is still one where painful toil is present, a fallen world of thorns and thistles, of tube delays, and difficult bosses, overwhelming workloads and deadlines, challenging children and housework, frustration with life.
Christ’s resurrection on the first day of the week changes the Sabbath day. We no longer work during the week looking forward to rest; we work from the rest which Christ has won for us. We look back to creation and God’s redemption in history; but now rejoice in Christ’s resurrection, the completion of his work. Christ rose on the first day of the week (John 20:19); he appeared to his disciples on the first day of the week (Jn 20:26); the early Christians met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7); they laid aside their money to give on the first day of the week (1 Cor 16:1,2); and by the time we come to Revelation, John finds himself describing it as the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10). It seems that the emphasis moves from Rest to Worship with the transition from Sabbath to Lord’s Day; however, both must be present.
One of the ways God has given us to deal with the pressures of life and tiredness is to take a Sabbath Day. We live in a city that never stops, where people live at an unsustainable pace. The most consistent answer to the question, ‘how are you?’ is… ‘tired’. It has become our gut reaction, even when it’s not true. In fact, some of us feel guilty when we’re not tired.
I want to really encourage us a church family to make use of the Lord’s Day. To be determined in making the most of it. That is going to mean preparing for it. I have found that if I can think through what needs doing on a Saturday to enable me to not have to work on a Sunday, it frees me up. If I want to make the most of Sundays, I’ll go to bed earlier on a Saturday.
In a world where weekends away are sacrosanct, as Christians, we’ll be different because there’s a day that we want to spend with God’s people, worshipping together. That’s our priority.
There is no command in Scripture about how long we’re in church, or how often we meet on Sundays, but I think framing the Lord’s Day by gathering for worship in the morning and the evening with the Lord’s people is both for your, and the church’s, good. It has certainly been the wisdom of the church for centuries.
We try to encourage people into each other’s homes, build community, invest in relationships, care for the lonely, and spend time with the people God has knitted you together with. Eat food you love, read books that help you love the Lord, enjoy the creation God has given, welcome strangers. Put aside your work.
There are challenges for families, but making Sunday’s the best day of the week is really important. It’s a day to show our children what really matters in life. I would argue that how we spend our Sundays shows what our priorities are. I’ve written before on this, but it is what we are excited about that our children will see as they grow up, not just what we teach them.
I want to plead for two things. The first: put sport in its place. We live in a culture that thinks sport is far too important. Sport is a good gift from God, it is to be enjoyed, but not worshipped. The reality is that for many of us, sport has become an idol: take a break from it. Worshipping God with God’s people is infinitely more important than sport. Ask yourself the question: why am I so reluctant to have my devotion to sport questioned?
The second thing would be to put work, and particularly schoolwork, in its place. God has given you a day when you don’t have to feel guilty about not doing work. Learn the lesson that you are not defined by your work. Refuse to believe that you must disregard God’s command to prosper. It’s a damaging lie. Sunday is a day when the pressure is off.
I remember a discussion with students once where this truth was being applied; that God has given us a day when we don’t have to study and we can rest. The response from a couple of the students was, “we don’t want to be legalistic about that”. The Bible leader again stated the great blessing that it is not to have to work, but we can rest and not have to feel guilty about it. The sad response was, “we don’t want to be legalistic about that”. The offer of gracious, refreshing rest was missed.
I have no (and I hope you don’t have) any interest in morbid miserable Sabbaths. Jesus certainly didn’t. There are things we shouldn’t do because it’s the Lord’s Day, of that there’s no doubt, but our mindset must be that we get to worship with God’s people; we get to rest from our work. We remember creation, redemption, salvation and long for that eternal rest.
Sundays are like a trailer for a film, or a taster for a menu. One day everyday will be like Sunday taken up with Jesus and his praise. Make Sundays great again.
Your minister and friend,
Paul
Ps. I’ve been enormously helped by, ‘The Sabbath as Rest and Hope for the people of God’, by Guy P Waters which is worth reading