THE PRIORITY TO REST>
The sabbath is a difficult concept under the new covenant. Clearly Jesus rebuked the legalism of the pharisees regarding the 'holy day', but it cannot be said that He removed the sabbath concept. In fact, He upheld the importance of the sabbath by claiming that it was made for man, and that He as the Son of Man was Lord of the sabbath.
So where does this leave us? I think it leaves us with christians with a priority to uphold the spirit of the sabbath as it is made for our good, as part of our appropriate operating system, so to speak.
So we return to the creation narrative in Genesis, when God rested on the seventh day. Was God tired? It would be hard to sustain such an argument in the light of the power he has just exercised. No, it seems that His 'rest' - when He reflects on the goodness of His action and rejoices in the work of His hands - is in fact the consummation of His act. The seventh day completes the creation narrative, it is not post-narrative. God rejoices and is satisfied. It is somewhat like a siesta after a great meal... it completes that which is good making it very good.
May we make it a priority to seek joy and satisfaction in the work of God in us by resting and reflecting. How you apply that is your responsibility before God, but I would note that one of the historical applications of this is the church service.
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1 comment:
I seem to recall a discussion regarding the connection between rest, creation, re-creation, salvation and worship on Laura's Dust and Ashes blog some time ago.
What about when our traditional day of worship (i.e Sunday) feels more like a day of work? I see a real danger in overcommiting to ministry and feeling that everything is work and nothing is rest. That is probably particularly true for those of us in full time employment (and I'm sure it's true for those in full time ministry).
It probably comes down to not relying on God's grace for our salvation but feeling it is necessary to work and work and work for God.
I think it would be a wonderful thing to feel comfortable to regularly rest in the presence of our great God.
Maybe I need to lie down in green pastures, beside quiet waters, a bit more often.
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