A few ideas for applying the principle of sabbath, without legalism – Rest & Sabbath, Part 5

This week, I’ve been blogging about sabbath. While the New Testament does not teach that Sunday is the new sabbath day, Jesus teaches the sabbath principle for us in Matthew 11, verses 28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Think about confidence that Jesus wants to give us.  We can lack that confidence.  We can turn off our phone, but then worry that we are missing out.  We can be off work, whether one day per week or on a vacation, but worry that we should be making money.  To that, Jesus says, “Trust in me, take my yoke upon you. Find your rest in me.”

Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann says that Jesus could be talking about the weariness of the Roman taxation system that meant people had to work nonstop to make ends meet. Or Jesus could be talking about the Jewish religious system that was filled with endless rules to follow, making it seem impossible for most people to think that God was smiling over them.

Do you feel those pressures? Endless work, paying off debt, paying bills, saving for retirement, paying for health insurance, and on and on it goes.  Life is expensive.  We can also feel tired about being a so-called good Christian.  We can question if we’re praying enough, praying the right way, serving enough, giving enough. To these frustrations and doubts, Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Jesus is our source of true rest.  We spend time with him, rest in him.  One way is through contemplative prayer, where we physically sit with Jesus, listening for him, through his Spirit.  We are so accustomed to noise.  To having sound fill the air around us. We do well to follow Jesus’ example, as he often got away and was alone with his father.  We’ll never get away from all noise, and actually total silence is not the idea.  But we do well to take action to reduce the noise in our lives, and spend time with Jesus. Contemplating who he is, what he is like, how he acts and thinks, asking the Spirit to help us have rest in him, so that we can live more like him. 

What we find in this time with Jesus is that it comes back to our hearts.  He knows what is best is for our hearts to rest in him. 

That kind of time with Jesus is one way we can apply the principle of sabbath in our lives on a regular basis.  Not making a new law, as if we have to do spend thirty minutes each day in silent prayer. Nothing like that.  Instead, with a graciousness to yourself, and with a heart for God, try contemplatively spending time with Jesus on a regular basis.  Could be turning off all noise in the car when you’re driving.  Could be at night before bed.  Could be both.  Could be other times of quiet.  One small way I do this is when I am running.  I choose not to listen to music or podcasts.  Instead I run, listening to the world around me, thinking, sometimes praying.  I don’t always do it well, but when I do, it is running with Jesus.

You can practice this kind of contemplative sabbath individually and together with others.

How will you apply sabbath to your life?

Photo by Viktor Bystrov on Unsplash