Beloved,
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reconsidering my theology of the sabbath. Before you jump to conclusions and move to file charges, let me assure you that I’m not questioning the abiding validity of the fourth commandment or anything like that. I’m simply questioning the way I have been taught to think about the Lord’s Day as a pastor.
It is very common to hear pastors say things like:
• “The sabbath is a work day for me!”
• “The sabbath is not restful because I spend it pouring myself out in leading worship and preaching and shepherding.”
• “I need another day designated as my sabbath because the Lord’s Day isn’t really a sabbath.”
I probably have been guilty of making statements such as these. And even if I haven’t stated them, I have certainly thought them. But I’ve begun to question where this kind of thinking comes from. Can these claims be substantiated by the Bible?
I’m increasingly having my doubts that they can. In fact, I’m increasingly convinced these kind of comments fundamentally misunderstand the Bible’s teaching on the Lord’s Day.
The rest that God calls us into on the sabbath is the rest of worship. The reason we are called to cease our ordinary vocational labors on this day is not primarily physical but spiritual. We stop working so that we can focus in an undistracted manner upon the worship of the Triune God who offers our weary souls rest in His presence and word. And here is the thing – aggressive engagement with God through the ordinary means of grace is hard work. It is physically and mentally and emotionally taxing. That is true for all God’s people, not merely the worship leader.
On top of that, all of us are required to use the particular gifts God has given us to serve and build up the broader body as she gathers on God’s day. God has given me certain gifts to use on the Lord’s Day, and He has given you certain gifts to use on the Lord’s Day. All of us are to be actively pouring ourselves out in service and fellowship as we seek to spur one another on toward Christ. That is not peculiar to the pastor so that for him it is a work day whereas for everyone else it is a rest day.
The Sabbath, in a very real sense, is a work day for all of us. There is no place for inactivity or passivity on this day (though, of course, an afternoon nap is free to be enjoyed!). But God sets apart this day in His grace that we might be able to give ourselves in body and soul, not to any old work, but to the most glorious work in all the world – exulting in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through God’s self-revelation in Scripture. That is true rest! And it is a rest that entails attentive, intentional, tiring exertion.
These thoughts aren’t leading me to deny the wisdom in pastors taking a day off (just as many in the secular work force have Saturdays off along with Sunday). I intend to continue taking Mondays off for my own personal health and the health of my family. I’m just having serious doubts about the idea that my day off is my sabbath because the sabbath is supposedly not my sabbath.
We are all called to give ourselves to God’s worship and God’s people in a way that often leaves us feeling worn out by the end of Sunday. Such exertion doesn’t unsabbath the sabbath; it comes with the territory of sabbath in this present age. And it is beautiful in the sight of God.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick