Lenten Devotions

Sunday, February 17

You shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, given in order that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut from among the people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the Israelites shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Exodus 31: 13-17

Guess what I did on my last day of Sabbath. I ate pasta with parsley and lime juice and olives, accompanied by a lovely sparkling wine. I made a fire and lounged in front of it. I thanked God profusely for my life. I read Plato’s Symposium. (For me, that was enjoyable.) I wrote a meandering letter to my mom who I miss very much of late. I prayed as much as I wanted without worrying about what I was supposed to do next. I remembered that I am not God and that the world can keep moving without me. I came away refreshed, and I believe God was pleased.

Maybe it’s the talk of death for those who profane the Sabbath that leave us thinking that day of holy rest is to be something onerous and unpleasant. I think those lines are in there to emphasize how critical Sabbath keeping became for the Jewish people. Years after Mount Sinai, when the Temple had been destroyed, no descendant of Judah was on the throne and Israel was occupied by a foreign power, keeping the Sabbath was one of the few things the Hebrew people could do to remember who they were, whose they were. Sabbath keeping has been, throughout the centuries and in time of great oppression, one of the ways in which God’s people remained a holy people, a people set apart for Yahweh. This is still a good reason for us to keep the Sabbath, perhaps the best reason. God said to. Remember the third commandment.

But, as Jesus later makes clear, and as rabbis throughout the ages have known, “the Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath.” Sabbath is a gift. God gives us what we need so that we might have joy-filled, abundant lives that overflow into loving others. Sabbath is such a gift. Look at that last line of the Exodus passage again. It rather amazes me. Even the LORD God finds the day of rest refreshing. The rhythm of creation calls for rest, for refreshment, for basking, for pleasure, for renewal, for room to appreciate grace.

A Practice:

Commit some time this day or this week to God. Make it lovely so that your heart overflows in gratitude to the One who made you and holds you dear. It need not be a Sunday. Make it at least several hours long. You can grow into a full Sabbath if you’d like. Remember, this is a gift and a command. This is something God wants for you.

For more information or to continue the conversation, write to Katie at katherinekinnison@covenantpcusa.org.

Back to Devotions page