Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Church

Believers in Christ,

     This month we continue with our discussion of the Catechism, as we focus on the 3rd commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear it and learn it.

     The first question is: what exactly is the Sabbath? For the ancient Israelite, Sabbath was a formal day of rest. In the book of Exodus, chapter 16, God established the Sabbath Day. He wanted His people to stop their normal weekly activities and take a day to honor the Lord. Really, the concept comes from the first week of the world. Our Lord created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7^th day; which was the original Sabbath. The question is often asked: why did our Lord rest on the 7^th day, was He tired? Absolutely not; He rested on the 7^th day because He wanted to establish a holy and set-apart day. He didn’t want the people to forget about Him. It would have been so easy to get busy with work and forget about God. So, therefore, God establishes a day in which the people could relax. But, also a Sabbath day was necessary so that the people could remember God, go to the temple and worship Him and call to mind what He had done for them.

     How is this commandment honored in our day? For Luther, Sabbath day was all about the Word and Sacraments. On the Sabbath day or day of restful worship, believers came to the church to hear the blessed Word of God and to receive Holy Communion. That was primarily how one honored the Sabbath.

How true that is for us, as well! Each and every week, we have an opportunity to confess our sins and to hear the blessed words of Absolution; we hear God’s Word read and preached from the pulpit and we receive the precious body and blood of our Savior for forgiveness, life and salvation. That is a real Sabbath day’s rest for us, as well.

The question is often asked of me: Pastor, is it a sin to do any work on the Sabbath day? Do I have to stay home and do nothing? I answer that by saying; honoring the Sabbath Day is primarily about receiving the gifts of God in worship; however, to take some time off, away from the busyness of work and to spend time with family is a good idea. It is good for our mental, physical and spiritual health. We should not, however, in our day, make any laws about it.

Have a blessed month of October and especially enjoy our remembrance of Reformation.

In Christ,