I’ve argued that Christians should observe Sunday as their Sabbath day. So, how should we go about it? I commented in my first article that one of the reasons why people turned away from the idea of Sabbath was that in many circles it had become legalistic with heavy, arbitrary rules about what you could and could not do on the day. I don’t think Sunday is meant to be like that. It should be a duty but also a delight, the two are not meant to be in conflict.
This comes back to my view that rest, enjoyment and worship are bound up together. What did God do at the end of the first week of Creation? He didn’t go to sleep. He evaluated his work, declaring it very good. In other words, we see God glorifying and enjoying himself. Adam and Eve, as the first humans were in effect invited to join in this enjoyment and glorification. What did it mean for the Israelites to cease from their labours and observe a Sabbath to the Lord? Well, you get a sense of what this was meant to be like by seeing what happened at the big festivals. At those, the people would gather together, bringing their offerings to share together in celebration. I want to suggest that the weekly Sabbath was similar but on a smaller, more regular scale.
They were to enjoy the Sabbath remembering God’s goodness to them in creation and redemption. It was a celebration and an expression of trust in God’s provision as well as of their own limits. They couldn’t keep going infinitely. They had to stop from time to time and so they were dependent on God. In fact, it is possible that Adam and Eve were tempted to eat the fruit on that very first Sabbath. If so, then the first sin included the first break of Sabbath boundaries.
The early Christians met together on the Lord’s Day and just as the Israelites celebrated God’s goodness and redemption, so too, the Christians as they gave thanks, prayed, took up a collection for those in need and shared communion expressed trust in God’s goodness and remembered his redemption.
This should help us to think about how we are to treat the Christian Sabbath today. It should start with our gathering together. Primarily, we are meant to share the Sabbath together not on our own. I’ve mentioned before that I believe that this means that pastors/ministers should observe their Sabbath together with God’s people on a Sunday. They may have a “day off” similar to a Saturday at an other time in the week but Sunday is their Sabbath too, like everyone else’s. The idea that they could have a Sabbath away from God’s people is a nonsense.
But what it means is that however we design the day, that from the moment we get up, until when we go to bed, at home, on our own, with family, at church and if we do things with other people such as having a meal together, then all of those things should feel restful and enjoyable with Christ at the centre and remembrance of the Gospel as the focal point. I wouldn’t attempt to prescribe what this will mean for you. Rather I’d encourage you to ask the question “Does this describe my Sunday?” If not, then something has gone wrong.
Faithroots 