Ideas borrowed from Heschels "Sabbath"; Marva Dawns book on Sabbath; And Willomons and Hauerwas' book on the Ten Commandments

"Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work -- you, you son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock or the resident alien in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it."

And so God tells us that the whole of creation is caught up with this Sabbath. That it is of cosmic importance to God in the creating of the universe. And what ever Christian theory of the creation of the Universe you hold ... 6 days, evolution, etc ...God's pattern of resting every seven days is woven into our lives ... physically and mentally ... and spiritually. Indeed, one of the truths about humanity is that Sabbath is at the heart of existence. If you read the Bible ... what is the first to be called holy? The very first time "Holy" is used in Genesis... it is used to bless the Sabbath ...

Did you know that human beings are made for a 25 hour day ... but we only have 24 hours in a day ... this means by the seven day we are behind by about six hours ... one researched noticed this pattern and found that those who took a day off from working and rested for a day found that they were mentally rested. Those who rested had a greater sense of mental and physical well being ... whereas those who failed to rest after six days of steady work often suffered from insomnia or sleeplessness, hormone imbalances, fatigue, irritability, organ stress, or even more serious physical and mental symptoms.

And yet, if we look at how many Christians listen to God's wisdom ... few seem to think they can afford to rest from their labours ... even for one day a week.

But it seems that God can afford it ... for God rested on the Seventh day. After creating the universe the Bible says, "God rested". But what kind of rest are we talking about.

It says in the Bible that on the seventh day, God rested ... the Hebrew word is "Menuha". We translate it as rest ... but like much biblical language the word is richer than rest. Menuha; does not mean freedom from toil, strain or activity of any kind", but "tranquity, serenity, peace, repose"

One the Seventh day God gave us "Menuha" ... tranquility, serenity, peace, repose ... and this quality of life certainly seems to be something that people are striving for. It seems that "Menuha" is in short supply these days ... with stress on the increase, "Menuha", appears to be something that people desperately need ... people need the Sabbath ...

Jesus himself said that the Sabbath was made for humanity ... that it was to be a source of life. It is quite clearly repeated in the sacred stories that Jesus strongly and frequently affirmed that he faithfully kept the Sabbath. Each Sabbath he would worship at Synagogue ... it seems that as busy that Jesus was, he had the time to afford to give to God ... and he knew how important the Sabbath is to the people of God ...

Sabbath has always been the sign of the people of God ... it was what kept Israel from being consumed by the seductive Babylonian culture.

During the time a few hundred years before Jesus, when the Israelites were exiled to Iraq ...to become a minority people under Babylonian control. And in this situation they certainly were in danger of being absorbed by the dominant culture; Come to worship on the Sabbath? ... sorry, the arena has a wonderful chariot races ... sorry my children have wrestling practice ... sorry, I can not lose the profits of a day at the market. And yet, some were not lost to the tides of choices ... a group kept the Sabbath and thereby followed God into the future. Such was the reward in being God's Sabbath people.

We have much to learn from the Jews. The observance of the Sabbath strongly kept the Jewish identity during the Babylonian captivity, and has continued to preserve the Jewish people throughout western history. They are a people who are in love with God's Sabbath ... for they know in their hearts that the Sabbath was made for humanity ... just as Jesus said. It is a blessing beyond riches. It defines who they are and who we are ... we are a people of the Sabbath ... a people who are defined by our rest rather than our work ...

For Jesus knows that we are something greater than just our work, even if our culture tries to limit us to what we do. Have you noticed that the first question people ask, "What work do you do?" And we are judged by our answer ... if you don't believe me just say that you are a janitor next time. You janitors know what I mean ... and God bless you ... the world is a better place because of your ministries. Yet we are defined by work. It seems that even our family name is no longer important. And so it is we have been reduced to; Hi I am Jim, the Busdriver; Hi I am Sally the Doctor.

Yet there is good news ... however important our jobs we are more than them. We are called to something deeper; Invited into a deeper identity so that we can say; Hi I am Jim the child of God; Hi I am Sally the child of the Most High. That is what " " will be blessed with " " the child of the wonderous Creator. This is what the Sabbath offers us ... and this is why we try to have most Baptisms on our Sabbath ... so the connection is made. That through our baptism we are a Sabbath people ... that is at the core of our being ... that is what we can proclaim to a world that is hurry sick and has lost its real purpose ... that has lost its soul.

In an age that has lost its soul, Sabbath keeping offers the possibility of gaining it back. In an age of searching for meaning Sabbath keeping offers a new hope. In contrast to a technological society, in which the sole criterion of value is the measurement of efficiency of work, those who keep the Sabbath find their criteria in the character of God in whose image they celebrate life."

This is one of the reasons that we gather together to worship God on the Sabbath ... to give thanks for the blessings of God's life giving wisdom.

Out of the third commandment is a wise reminder for us ... a reminder that we have been created for no higher purpose than the worship of God. The old presbyterian Westminster Confession asks, "What is the chief end of humanity?" The correct answer, "To glorify God and to enjoy God forever."

Friends, the Sabbath is much more than strict rules about doing nothing. Through it we are enjoined this day to remember, recall, re-create. We are not simply to remember that we ought to keep the Sabbath, but we are to remember who God is - active and loving, resourceful beyond our actions and resources. We are to remember who we are - gifted, sustained and blessed beyond our striving and achieving.

Sabbath is a sign of trust that God governs this world, therefore we don;t have to work to make things come out all right. God welcomes our labour ... and calls us to it ... but make no mistake ... God does not rely on us.

And learn from the Sabbath ... we rely on God for everything. For through the Sabbath and it's blessing we are reminded of the truth of existence ... that at the core of life we find ourselves falling back upon the Everlasting Arms, resting in the promise of God who will not to desert us ... who will not to allow chaos to overwhelm us. We worship a God confident enough to rest ... and it takes a people confident in God to share in the gift of that rest.