Sabbath, an Invitation
by Kaytlyn Cobb
If you’ve never had a cup of coffee from Cathedral Coffee on Zebulon Road in Macon, this is your invitation to join me for one today. I’ve spent many, many days working here and have drunk many, many cups of their delicious coffee. In fact, I’m writing this from my favorite seat by the window listening to the espresso machine steam milk and the light chatter around me as people share conversation over early morning cups of coffee and toasted muffins. Will you join me? I am going to have my usual, a large, extra-hot vanilla latte. Want one too?
A few months ago my husband and I were working from here and the manager, Jacob, stopped by our table to chat. We checked in on each other’s families and kids and of course the UGA football season which was just around the corner at the time. Then Jacob shared something with us that he was thinking and praying through with his family. He said that he was giving a lot of thought to work and Sabbath. He explained to us that he was wearing over-working and busyness like a badge of honor and instead of feeling accomplished he was feeling the weight of conviction from the Spirit. He had come to realize how closely his young daughter was watching and learning from his actions. Sure, she was learning the value of working and serving hard, but his heart was heavy with the conviction that he wasn't giving her a good (or any) example of what rest and Sabbath mean for us believers.
Jacob’s timely conversation with us was just one of the many ways our kind and gracious Father has been trying to get my attention about Sabbath in my own life. Over the last several months this topic has been ringing in my ear: from podcasts I listen to, believers I’ve had conversations with, pastors and other leaders I follow on blogs and social media, it’s been everywhere! Enjoy another sip of my favorite latte in town and allow me to share with you what I’ve been learning…
What is Sabbath?
By definition, Sabbath is “a day of religious observance and rest from work.” This is first modeled for us in scripture in Genesis 2:1-3 where after 6 days of creating the world, God himself rested on the 7th day, which later became known as the ‘Sabbath’ which simply means ‘rest.’ This concept was woven into the very thread of Creation. Throughout the Old Testament, we see the Sabbath stand out significantly in history. In Exodus, as the Israelites wandered through the desert, they traveled and labored for six days and then reserved the seventh day for rest. They even received it as the fourth commandment in Exodus 20 which stated, “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (verse 8). This became a cultural marker for the Israelites throughout time (and even Jewish people today), the observation of this Holy Day each week. They would cease all work completely from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday for rest and worship.
We see throughout the Old Testament and the many strivings of mankind, this kind, firm, and gentle invitation from God to ‘return to Me and rest’ (Psalm 116:7). And when we look to the New Testament, we see Jesus had several conversations about Sabbath, though they were mostly with religious leaders quibbling over outward observance to the letter of the law rather than the heart - from picking grain on the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, etc. However, Jesus’ invitation was as tender and sincere as His Father’s: “return to Me and rest” (Matthew 11:28).
An Invitation vs a Law
From the conversations we see take place in the New Testament, we see how easily we can give in to legalism and performance - who can follow these rules the best? What are the can and can’t-do’s of this day? Once this becomes our mindset, then we see the danger of continuing the deadly cycle of more work and effort and attempting to earn - which is the very curse we’re trying to break in the first place. Rather, I see this as an invitation from our Father to rest and heal our souls from labor and toils, no matter how productive or ‘good’ they may be.
An Invitation to Remember
Many of the practices of believers in the Old and New Testaments were intended to help them to remember who God is and what He has done. And even though thousands of years have passed we still have much in common with the Israelites in the Old Testament - we are a forgetful people. Think of Passover for example. This annual festival was a solemn time to recite scripture, pray together, and most of all remember what God had done to redeem His people from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12). Israel’s festivals were extended Sabbaths! Even more days built into their calendar to recognize their dependence on God and His provision for them in the past. It’s similar to how we sing and talk through Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration every week at New City or as we take Communion together weekly - we do these as practices together to remember. Sabbath is a good and healthy practice for us so that we can remember. We remember who God is and we remember who we are in light of that truth.
An Invitation to put an End to Striving
Traditionally, Sabbath is a cease from work for 24 hours. In a time of history where we just cannot stop working, making progress, achieving, and succeeding, doesn’t the thought of Sabbath sound like a soothing freedom for the body and soul? And if you hear these words from me and your first reaction is anxiety or stress, then you probably need a weekly Sabbath more than you think. John Mark Comer describes Sabbath as a “discipline followed by freedom..” and a way to “break the addiction of accomplishment” in this sermon series. We are invited into Sabbath each week with a little bit of discipline and commitment on our end and find deep freedom and health for our souls from God at the other end.
An Invitation to Trust
Friend, can we trust that if we put a full stop to our work and productivity weekly that God will continue to provide? That if we don’t make or take that call, respond to that email, or make that social media post that “will only take a moment,” will our work still be there on the other side? Will our bills be paid, our family be provided for? Remember with me that in Exodus 16 God would provide double the amount of manna needed on the sixth day so they would be fed on the Sabbath. Will you put it all aside as a weekly practice of trusting God with everything? Even the things we believe are completely in our control… correction - especially the things we misbelieve are in our control?
An Invitation to Delight
We’re invited to an entire day every week to delight in and worship the Father, the Creator and Sustainer of all. Does anyone else need the reminder that He’s the one keeping the world turning, not us? So let’s celebrate that! Step away from media and technology, productivity, consuming, and turn your heart and mind and soul toward delighting. No, Sabbath doesn’t mean you have to sleep all day - enjoy creation alone and with your family, gather and feast with family and friends, take a nap and trust that the world will keep spinning, enjoy slow, undistracted time in the Word, and take delight in the blessings all around you. In the sermon series from John Mark Comer that I mentioned previously, he describes delighting in Sabbath as a day where “nothing that would spark in us a desire in us for what we don’t have rather than delight in what we do…This isn’t about what you’re not allowed to do, this is a practice to index our hearts away from slavery, greed, discontent, and restlessness from our culture and into the freedom of gratitude, contentment, and restfulness from the Kingdom. Sabbath is a practice to end accomplishment.”
An Invitation to Rest
At the heart of Sabbath, this sacred time is an invitation for our hearts, bodies, mind, and soul to rest in the Father. Old Testament, New Testament, today, the invitation is the same, “return to Me and rest.” No other place on this earth will you find this invitation. Apart from this, you will find demands (both from the world and even ourselves) to work harder, and achieve more - where your worth and capability are all based on what you are able to achieve. The true Gospel tells me that this Good News is Jesus plus nothing. Not do more or try harder, but just Jesus and this tender invitation. Amen?
An Invitation to Join Me
In confession, I want to share that this isn’t something I have “figured out.” Over these last few months, I’ve been absorbing all of this great information and pondering on it heavily, but I have put very little to practice. But I’m ready to break free from the sin of striving and overwork and discover the rest for my soul that’s been available to me all along since the final day of Creation. I’m ready to make space for this rhythm and discipline and not live under legalism but under the freedom of this sacred practice. And believe that when I stop, the world that God holds in its entirety will keep spinning without me and He will be glorified in that.
So over these delicious lattes from Cathedral Coffee we’ve savored together today, will you join me?
Shabbat Shalom, friends.