The Day of Rest

Sabbath, the Seventh Day, the Day of Rest from the week’s work, Holy Saturday, the Creator of all again rests from all of His work of Re-Creation. Sunday He rode into the holy city, allowing Himself to be proclaimed the one coming in the name of the Lord. He preaches. He cleanses the temple. He observes the final festival of the Passover, which He prepares to fulfill. He ordains the New Testament in His blood. He suffers the betrayal, the false trial and judgment, the scourging, the crucifixion. Now He rests in another man’s bed of death, declaring all that He has accomplished to be good.

On the third or eighth day He shall raise Himself again bodily from the dead. He shall again make His presence known among His people.

On this Holy Saturday it seems appropriate to reflect upon a couple of comforting passages of the Holy Scriptures:

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. (Exodus 33:14-17)

At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:25-30)

This promised rest is a different word than the Sabbath unto the Lord commanded in the Third Commandment. This rest is in connection with and the result given through the Sabbath Day, the day hallowed as the day that the Lord rested from all of His labors. In the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament passage the word is katapauso. The New Testament word is anapauso.

These two words have the same base word, which means to give rest or to cause to be settled. Both words are used in connection with the Lord’s presence with His people. Kata means down or against. Ana means up or above.

According to the Old Testament promises, the people were promised that the Lord would cause His presence to go with them, to separate them from the other nations, to keep them bound to Him through faith in the promised Seed. But while the Lord would be present with them, they could not actually come into His presence and could not look upon His face.

But with the birth of Jesus, this was advanced from kata to ana. With the Lord’s bodily presence, that is, in the body of Jesus, they could actually look up and see the Lord’s countenance. They could look up and see His face and touch Him. Now, not only were they separated from the world by the presence of the Lord going with them, but now they were separated so as to be invited to come into His presence and to see His face and to receive from Him the very things from above. Now He would give rest to them in and through His very body and blood.

And so the last Sabbath was observed by the Lord as He rested from His works of recreation, lying upon the cold stone bed of a sinner, until on the third day He raised Himself up again to be seen by all so that they could again come unto Him to be made to be everlasting recipients of the rest that He gives to all who come unto Him in His body, the Church.

Surely this is a holy day as we quietly await the joyous celebration of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead. Such a day is like no other. Such a day is true cause for the return of the Gloria in Excelsis and the Hallelujahs in the divine service.

For as St. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 3:21, our connection to the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the answer of the good conscience poured out to us in the water of our baptism. His resurrection is the reason that we not only will not be separated from God forever in hell, but also is the reason that we will be bound together with God in His holiness and glory forevermore. His resurrection is the reason that we dare to come to God and confess our sins, knowing that our Lord Jesus stands as our mediator and intercessor, calling for our absolution that He purchased for us.

Surely this news is genuine comfort and peace and cause for relaxing in perfect rest.

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TGIF - Weekends

Last night my wife sent me to Walmart to purchase some household ammonia. As I waited in the checkout line I conversed with the lady ahead of me about a couple of things. I talk with almost anyone who is willing to converse.

After paying for my purchase I told the cashier “Have a good evening.” She responded, “Have a good weekend.”

I was a bit surprised. I realized that I don’t really think in terms of weekends. The common expression of “Thank God it’s Friday!” really means nothing to me beyond the everlasting blessing of Good Friday.

I am self employed, so Saturday is just another day. Sunday I prepare and preach and conduct the divine service.

This is not a good way to live. Wives and mothers often live this way, too. For many wives and mothers a day of rest only comes when they become too sick to get out of bed.

This is why the Lord established the Third Commandment: “Thou shalt remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” While that commandment was given in accord with the Old Testament, what it instructs us certainly still applies in accord with the New Testament. We still need a day of rest in the holy communion of the Lord.

What the Lord declares in the Ten Commandments is given for our good. He knows how He has made us and what we need. Without a time of rest we do not function well. That is why He Himself set the example, as our loving Father, ending all His work of creation and resting on the Seventh Day.

He truly is our loving Father. His commandments are given not to restrict us but to set us free from the bondage that we choose for ourselves. All of His commandments are given to set our hearts and minds free by restoring our thoughts and desires in accord with His holiness and His good and gracious will. Truly the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever!

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And on the Seventh Day

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3)

Is it not amazing to see how God made the second work of creation to be like the first? On the first day everything was in chaos, without order, and God called forth the light to shine and established order to the world. After working all week to establish His order to His creation, having completed His creative work, He rested from all of His work. On the eighth day the new life that He created and established continued under His blessing and care.

Is it not marvelous to see how He did the same in His work of redemption and recreation? He called forth light and order out of the world’s chaos with His entrance on Palm Sunday, the first day of the week. He worked all week cleansing the temple and preaching and proclaiming sound doctrine. He brought the Old Testament to a close and instituted the New Testament in His blood, then faced the mock trial and the slander and the torture and the crucifixion, bringing to completion the work of redemption and recreation. He was buried before the beginning of the Sabbath Day and He rested from all of His work of recreation, rising again on the eighth day to rule over the world with His blessing and care.

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The Rest of Good Friday

Today is the rest or Sabbath of Good Friday. On the cross Jesus purchased for us our Sabbath from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Tomorrow we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord, whereby God rose from the dead in His body to assure us that He has never abandoned mankind and never shall.

Has God ever abandoned anyone? This question is answered in the Good Friday sermon, “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?”.

* Religion is for the weak... *

The video is brief and to the point. You can view it at Religion is for the weak . . ..

This individual shares his belief that those who embrace religion or faith are weak. He says that there are two kinds of religious people: those who are born with it because their parents believed; and those who fall upon hard times and are vulnerable and need to believe in something and that gives them strength. He concludes that it is therefore “a strength from delusion and in that sense it’s for the weak people.”

Curiously, in this 32 second video this self proclaimed “non-believer” uses the phrase “I believe” twice and “I feel” (an oft misused pseudonym for belief) once.

“I believe . . .”

“I believe . . .”

“I feel . . .”

Naturally, in perfect accord with his belief system, his profession of faith in non-belief is based purely upon his own very limited experience and perception and without a single statement of fact, but only upon his own opinion and beliefs and feelings.

Could this be counted as delusional?

Entering into debate with someone who has already made up one’s mind, someone who has already clearly stated a commitment to a belief system, is of course, nearly always nonproductive. Such is the way with any attempt to debate a person of the religion of atheism of anything factual.

However, it is very interesting to note that this atheist’s statements are true. What he chooses to do with the truth is false, but he does make true statements.

First, many if not even most religious people are “born with it.” Such people believe because their parents believe. If this is the only basis for the person’s faith, then this is indeed a delusion and has approximately the same value as the beliefs of the atheists. This kind of believing does in fact exist on the basis of a delusion that gives only a false hope.

Secondly, the atheist speaks truly when he says that we who turn to the faith do so because we are weak. But the atheist is wrong in feeling that this is a delusion. Such a conclusion is nothing but allowing one’s emotions to rule over one’s reason. The truth is that in expressing this and then following it the atheist admits fear of facing the truth. For human beings truly are weak and unable to make things right or safe or happy or anything else that one wishes to change. Even one’s own feelings are not completely under the individual’s own control.

Yes, we who are not delusional admit our weaknesses and our dependency upon the One who is strong to save. We have His written record of His gracious will toward us and His mighty acts of salvation. We have the evidence of nature that points to Him and His creative acts as well as His continual providence. We have His Church that has existed and provided safe haven for the weak ever since the beginning of time. We have eyewitness accounts from those who personally observed the life of God in the flesh, who lived and worked mighty signs and wonders, who preached peace and forgiveness, who sacrificed Himself and then rose again from the dead and ascended to the throne of glory. We have the witness of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to our conscience and strengthens our heart. We have the Sacraments by which forgiveness and life and peace are received.

So to the atheist who says that I am weak, I respond with a hearty “Amen!” And to the Lord who says to me, “Come, and I will give you rest from your weariness and from your heavy burdens,” I again respond with a hearty “Amen!”

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The Paschal Sabbath

On this day the Lord rested from His mighty work of taking the sin of the world. From the cross He cried “It is finished” and He gave up His spirit, commending it to the Father.

Why the wait?

Because the disciples needed to be taught to know the one on whom they depend. The Lord’s Sabbath was declared to last forever. The Church needs to spend this time remembering that the Lord is the one who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies His Church on earth. The Church needs to remember that her life is bound to the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord.

Thus, we take time to remember the great feast of salvation that we eat again on the Lord’s Day. He feeds us the body of His Holy Communion and the blood of His forgiveness and salvation. We do nothing to prepare for this meal except to remember the one who has given it. We remember that He is the one who has established the Church as the Holy gathering into His name. We remember that He is the one who gives us His body and blood for our life in His body. We remember that we are the recipients and He is the provider.

Then our life in Christ is not a burden but a Sabbath in and unto the Lord.

Tomorrow is the Festival of the Resurrection of our Lord. Tomorrow in the great Feast He shows Himself to us and we receive Him in the means by which He has promised to be with us to bless us and keep us. All is done. The work is complete. Now we rest in His grace and enjoy the fruits of His mighty labor.

Labor Day

Labor Day, a day that is intended to give those who are burdened and weary a day of rest.

Most people seem to welcome Labor Day as a day to forget the mundane daily routine that wears people down to the point of feeling trapped and without real purpose. People take time to travel, to visit friends and relatives, or just to take off and do nothing of the usual routine. They recreate. They rest from their labors.

Amazingly, the same people often resist honoring the Lord’s day of rest. He invites the heavy burdened and the weary to turn aside from their daily struggles to receive from Him the rest that He alone can provide. He even goes so far as to command it, because He knows how much we need the rest that is found only in communion with Him.

Isn’t it strange that we eagerly embrace a manmade day of rest, embracing it with our very being, while the day that God has given and established is so often despised? What different people we would be, how different our lives would be, if this were reversed!

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Technorati Tags: +Labor Day, day of rest