Jesus doesn’t simply defy Sabbath law: he compels us all to see that the true purpose of the law is that is for all.
Jesus and the Sabbath command
Proper 16C | Luke 13:10-17
Is Jesus the hero of this story?
Obviously we think so. But why?
The easy answer is that we’re followers of his. So…he’s supposed to be the hero of pretty much every story.
We’re biased. Which, most of the time, is not so desirable, but is sometimes necessary. We are on Team Jesus. We are biased toward love, generosity, justice, wholeness, peace. Because we’re biased toward good.
So yeah, while we aren’t called to judge each other, we are called to love.
We are unabashedly convinced Jesus is the hero in this story.
Do you know who else thinks Jesus is the hero here? Pretty much everybody there. Even the most skeptical are nudging each other and saying Ya know, he has a point…
He makes a logical argument. An intuitive argument. And a moral argument. It all makes consistent sense. When we hear it, we think: naturally! Because we agree: sometimes rules are made to be broken.
So if Jesus makes such obvious sense and everybody agrees with him, then why do we get the sense that it isn’t that simple?
Perspective
The interesting thing about this passage is that Jesus has essentially won a public debate. Which gives it a kind of finality in the moment and feels high-minded and logical.
So Jesus wins. It’s settled. We can all go home and do things differently now, right?
Ha. If only.
It shouldn’t be hard for any of us to think of some big public debate that was clearly “won” by someone only to have the supposed “loser” come back the next day with a whole different vision.
And that is the other piece that needs to be dealt with: those who don’t want Jesus to win.
Anti-Heroes
As obvious as the hero is in the story, the thematic villains are just as easy to find. Those mean-old leaders who believe in bad things like “rules” and doing what God commands. The audacity!
For how obvious Jesus is right, these leaders obviously must be wrong.
And because they will later have it out for Jesus, we feel justified in hating them now.
Unless, of course, we already see the problem. Of judgment. In condemning people.
We are quite accustomed to diversity in faith (believing we are to tolerate differences in belief); we know that good people approach the sacred texts differently.
And these leaders were offering the prevailing wisdom; the previous winning argument—the thing everyone just minutes ago thought was obvious.
Sabbath is for rest.
And Jesus is clearly working. So he is violating a command. From God. To do something today he could have done tomorrow. That is also obvious.
He knew this would make the leaders mad. And he did it anyway. So as much as Jesus’s argument is convincing to the people and obvious to us, it is still a challenge to norms and conventions. And potentially a challenge to God’s command.
So why does he do it?
To Redefine Work
The leaders are focused on the Law: how it is to be interpreted and what to do when it is violated. So if we are to not work on the Sabbath and we see someone working, we stop them, right? For their sake. It makes sense.
But Jesus is focused on a different idea. He isn’t focused on the punishment of rulebreakers or what not to do. He’s focused on how things actually work. And the traditional understanding of work is unworkable.
Living isn’t work.
Feeding livestock isn’t work in this sense. Healing the sick isn’t work.
Jesus is redefining work to make the Sabbath work. For you, for me, and for you and me.
24/7/365 is Unworkable
When God instituted Sabbath, it was to make the world pause every week. It was to make everything stop. For justice. Health. And Equity.
Principle ideas like everyone getting fed and debts being canceled could be instituted across society so we might all experience rest from the trouble of life.
This is at the core of Sabbath.
But obviously the world doesn’t stop moving. And life continues on. Yet the command remains.
So we can take it literally and all stop at the same time (and see how that works). Or we can make a reasonable change and stagger our days so we all can experience health in a constant world.
All of this may seem obvious, but it is all choice. To make things actually work.
Work v. Job
As Jesus redefines work, he’s doing it for equity. Not to remove the command to rest.
He isn’t challenging the purpose of Sabbath. Just how it is practiced.
And when I look around, I wonder how many of us feel rested. How many of us feel like we are always at work—and not just in offices or classrooms, but with family or in making dinner each night.
Are we able to see the grace in Jesus’s vision for Sabbath? Or do we embody what the leaders feared: that we would refuse to rest? And refuse the right of others to rest?
Take Jesus’s healing on the Sabbath as an invitation.
To rest. Heal. Love.
And give this invitation to others. That they may rest. Especially those who don’t know how! Sit still for once! It won’t hurt; I promise!
This is how we can be heroes in our story. Freeing each other to rest!
Our vision of work is unworkable. We are always on. And then we often come to church and treat it like work. Make ourselves be on. To make all of this more effective. Optimized. All the things all the people should be doing to make things better for all the other people. More work! Instead of Sabbath!
And yet, Sabbath isn’t a thing for individuals to just get individual comfort from. It isn’t just for you. It is our time. And we share in this need to rest.
This is ultimately why we need to be commanded to Sabbath. To stop. Rest. Because you and I have a hard enough time. But we have an even harder time as a people. And Sabbath is also a command to help each other rest. Because we need it. As people. Community.
So how do we do it?
When it feels like work on the Sabbath, don’t do it!
This isn’t about writing new laws to replace the old laws. Jesus isn’t offering a new law here. But when he says that the Sabbath is for healing, we all know that’s true, don’t we? True, not Rule. But also not as anti-rule. It is actually for the rules. Which we also know to be true, right?
Our heads may be confused on what to do, but our hearts aren’t. Because we know deep down how to rest. That it is necessary. And that we are all better for it.
So as some bring offerings to our weekly gathering, be they setting the table or cleaning it; reading, singing, praying, or sharing the cup; greeting, making coffee, or delivering donuts; feeding the multitudes snacks and treats; let us begin from joy. Let us begin from generosity. Offering one another Sabbath rest.
Let us also slow down a little. Reorient ourselves to what Sabbath is about. To this paradox of rest and offering rest. Of refraining from work and making it so others can also refrain from work.
Begin with love. Love of God. Of creation. Of each other. Start with love. And being loving becomes infinitely easier. And much less work.