Matthew 4:1-11 - "Sabbath Day Stop" (2-10-08)

Jesus has received his commissioning after his baptism at age thirty and is about to go off on his three year mission. So what is the first thing he does to get things started? He goes and takes a forty day hiatus into the wilderness for a little rest. Before he goes he must stop first! Perhaps this is the great reversal to Adam who before he should have stopped he did GO and eat the fruit with his wife. Instead of just being human, Adam and Eve wanted to play God. Now, instead of being God, Jesus is being fully human. Jesus will experience great temptations.

Perhaps the greatest temptation is to just keeping going through the stops signs of life. Yesterday I drove the kid’s home in my car as my wife drove home in the van. I turned down Ackman and tried to go the way of Randall with lights instead of the stop signs Tammy would hit. She beat us home. My son said to her, “we hit every red light going home.” Now my kids know how to spell stop. When we get to stop signs, they will now spell it out; STOP! You’ll see it at the end of the road for a reason! STOP SIGN!

Sabbath is about stopping. STOP in the name of love, before you break your heart. When there is no Sabbath; there is no Worship; there is no Word; there is no good news of God’s grace; then there is no rest! The temptation is to just keep going and doing. Sabbath is the word SABOT, which means to stop! My sister is a seventh day Adventist. She is home Friday night at different times of the year depending on the time of the sunset. She’s home, resting or spending time with family. She worships on Saturday morning and then has lunch with Church friends, always doing something that is re-creational and refreshing. She doesn’t pay the bills or do laundry. She will do those things on Sunday or she will stay up late Thursday evening to get some of those things done so she can rest.

I received a phone call Thursday night. It stopped me dead in my tracks! Jim was 60 and died of a heart attack! I’ve known him for 20 years! WE gather to stop, look and listen. So in the name of God just STOP it! Don’t just do something, sit there! Stop, in the name of love!

God made all of creation in six day and rested on the Sabbath. God created Adam and Eve on the sixth day. The first day they entered creation was on the Sabbath day and they rested in it. We received the commandment in Exodus 20:8-11 that would should remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy; which means set apart. God honored the Sabbath day in the creation story with doing all the creation in six days and resting on the seventh. Disobeying the Sabbath is as reprehensible as murder; robbery; adultery and deceit.

Today we remember the Sabbath Day and STOP. We are on journey this lent that will deepen our faith in God and recall the Sabbath day as a means to find refreshment and recreation and restoration in the relationship with God and with one another. We are here to recover God’s plan for us to find renewal in life. Sabbath rule is not just a dreary law that rules over us with such strict sense of determination that causes us to f be trapped in a tradition that limits us. We are not going to earn our salvation that is a gift in Christ be becoming legalistic about this 24 hour period in our faith journey. But to become liberal about this law and throw it out lead us to a superficial shallow faith that doesn’t impact our fast paced lifestyle that doesn’t know how to slow down and be still.

In the large catechism Martin Luther reminds us that the “holy day” of the Sabbath is literally a day of rest, Holy-Day; made holy by God so we don’t make it holy; a day to cease from labor; rest; and that is be holy to us in our lives; set apart. The Sabbath day for Jews was Saturday, like the Seventh Day Adventist. For Christians it is Sunday because Christ rose on Sunday and the early disciples wanted to note a change; that it’s not about which day! Sabbath is also about; from sunset to sunset over a 24 hour period was the legal code; it is time to rest (even non believers do this). It’s also about a time for worship; to hear and study the word; receive and celebrate the sacraments; pray; and praise God for life. Sabbath is about fellowship; to gather with children and teach them of God’s word and life; gather with friends and family to enjoy time together. Sabbath is about allowing the muddy waters to be still; for the water becomes clear when it becomes still. Finally, Sabbath is about dormancy; trees and plants go dormant in order to preserve; like this winter storm that reminded us that everything in this region still is under the restful cycle of winter to spring to summer to fall.

Let us pray: Gracious God, help me to rest today in the comfort of your mercy. Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you. Guide us in our resting, in Jesus name, Amen.