Lord’s Day 38: Q&A 103: More Than Sunday
One of the things that was hard for me when I started working in ministry (and I know is a hard thing for many people who work in ministry) was figuring out how and when to rest. The standard teaching on the Christian practice of Sabbath is that Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is the new Sabbath and all Christians should rest on that day. The way my parents taught us, there were exceptions for people in certain jobs like law enforcement, emergency service, etc. I actually used that to justify not going to church for a couple years in college because I decided that my job at the Dining Hall was important enough to not have to go to church.
But I digress. What does Sabbath look like for those of us for whom our main day of work is Sunday? Going to church, leading worship, preaching, etc. is certainly not restful, and even if you don’t have an evening service there is often other engagements Sunday afternoon/evening, so what is one to do? Wednesdays have been my Sabbath for the past few years, at least in the sense that I do not work.
So what is Sabbath for, then? The writers of the catechism nicely talk about Sundays but also bring up attendance of church services, regular practice of rest, and anticipating the ultimate Sabbath of resting in God for all eternity. The Sabbath, however, was made for man, not the other way around. This is one of the more important anti-legalism verses (Mark 2:27) in the New Testament. You don’t need to fret if you are or aren’t ‘doing’ Sabbath ‘right’ or ‘enough.’ You just need to rest and to rest in God. That’s what’s important.
Lord’s Day 38
Q&A 103
GOD’S LAW
Again, this can be read responsively
CALL TO WORSHIP
Brothers and Sisters, Come. Let us rest in the Lord. Let us rest from our work; from our weeks; from our toil under the sun. As we come together as God’s gathered people, let us rest. As we learn from God’s Word, break bread together, and offer our prayers and tithes to God, let us rest in him. Holy Spirit, may you work in us as we rest in you today.
CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE
Creator God, you set forth an example for us to rest as part of our existence. We confess to you that we resist rest. We bow to the demands of the world in our lives, our jobs, the sports we follow and participate in, and even within your church. Forgive us, Lord, for not taking time for ourselves and especially to find time for you. Forgive us for neglecting this time to gather with your people in favor of making time for a Little League game or our work. Holy Spirit, work in us this day and every day, that we may find our true rest in you; that we may rest not simply from our lives but also rest from our evil ways. We pray for forgiveness and to find our eternal rest in you, O Lord.
-Time of Silent Confession-
Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. Brothers and Sisters, as we find our rest in our God, we also find rest from our evil and sinful ways. In Christ, who offers us eternal rest in God, our sins are forgiven!
Thanks be to God
SENDING
As we end our time of communal rest in God, may we go out into the business of our lives having been refreshed by our time together. May we take the peace of God out into this violent world. May we bring the true rest we find in God to the world around us, that the world may know the hope of eternal rest we have in our God: Father, Son, and Spirit. Go in that rest. Go in that peace. Amen.
