“Time is money” the saying goes. These days, with so many options for our time and so many demands on our lives, we feel as though time is a commodity. We spend time, save time, waste time, invest time, buy time, manage time, we lose time. We organize and systematize in order to gain efficiency so we can get more out of our time.

From the first chapters of the Bible, God refers to time: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5). After six days of Creation, we read: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested (Hebrew: sabbath) on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:1-3).

We understand time mostly in divisions of days, hours and minutes … what we call Chronos – or chronological time. This is how we make our plans and attempt to increase our efficiency. We plan saying: “I’ll get up at 6:00am, get some exercise, shower, have something to eat, and get to the office by 9:00am.” This is chronological.

Kairos is the word we use to describe God’s time. As opposed to chronological, kairos takes into consideration the bigger picture. It looks for themes, influences, patterns. It is in kairos that “rest” (sabbath) makes sense. In our chronological world of efficiency and “the rat race”, rest doesn’t make sense; rather, it is more of a luxury. To rest means stepping off of the treadmill, getting out of the rat race, and enjoying holy rest. Holy rest isn’t just about sitting on the sofa watching a game. It is about being fully human and finding God not apart from our humanity, but right in the middle of it. We understand that God’s desire is for us to be in relationship with Him and to enjoy our lives, including our work. When we have sabbath rest, we are able to return to our work with joy. As the author of Ecclesiastes writes: “[God] has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil” (Ecclesiastes 3:11-13).

Remembering the Sabbath Day and keeping it holy then becomes less of an obligation or yet another rule in a long list of rules, and it becomes a piece of God’s plan to help us restore our humanity.

This Week

My reflections above have largely focused on Sabbath and why Sabbath is important to God (for more, listen to Sunday’s sermon). Take some time to review some or all of the Scriptures listed below.

• Of all the things Jesus did, why did the observance of the Sabbath cause so much angst among the religious leaders?
• What are some ways you and your family observe the Sabbath?
  • What could you do to improve what you do?

Scriptures

• Scriptures about Jesus working or healing on the Sabbath:
  • Matthew 12:9-14 – withered hand
  • Mark 1:21-34 – drove out demon, healed Peter’s mom, people waited until after sunset to bring people to Jesus for Him to heal
  • Mark 2:23-3:6 – withered hand
  • Luke 4:31-41 – no specific teaching on Sabbath here – demon driven out, Peter’s mother healed of her fever, “as the sun was setting, all who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus.”
  • Luke 6:1-11 – withered hand
  • Luke 13:10-17 – woman
  • Luke 14:1-6 – dropsy
  • John 5:1-18 – lame man
  • John 9:1-16 – blind man
• Scriptures about the 3rd commandment:
  • Exodus 20:8-11 – emphasis on creation
  • Deuteronomy 5:12-15 – emphasis on justice
• Sermon for Sunday (8/25/2013)