This morning at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA). we continued our Meeting Jesus Again series.
Sermon
My message, “Honoring the Sabbath” is based on the narrative lectionary passage:: Luke 6:1-16.
You can watch the message below or read the manuscript.
Excerpt
Through these two encounters, Jesus was teaching his early followers and is teaching us that the humanly constructed rules for Sabbath keeping can be broken. All such rules have exceptions. But, more importantly, he is inviting us to Sabbath keeping that is guided by love rather than by cultural or generational expectations.
What does this all mean for us?
Just do it. It means we keep the Sabbath, but don’t get caught up in the rules or rubrics. We stay focused on who we are and whose we are.
There are many Sabbath practices you might adopt, including regular worship attendance here at Advent. For some, it means unplugging from a near constant connection to work or even setting aside your cell phone. For others, it means making time for family – your family, your family of choice, and your church family.
Sabbath is countercultural and it is part of who we are and what we do. The Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, one of the most widely respected Old Testament scholars of my lifetime, explains:
We used to sing the hymn “Take Time to Be Holy.” But perhaps we should be singing, “Take time to be human.” Or finally, “Take time.” Sabbath is taking time . . . time to be holy . . . time to be human.”[1]
Siblings in Christ, during this unusually busy and stressful season and in all seasons of life, I invite you to honor the Sabbath.
Amen.
[1] Walter Brueggeman. Sabbath as Resistance, Saying No to the Culture of Now. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2017), p.88.