“The sabbath was made for people…” –Mark 2:27
When our four kids were little and I was a stay-at-home mom, I needed to make Sundays different from the rest of the week. Otherwise, the week would feel like one long continuous day, without a break. So, Sunday was the day for church, an easy supper, and no laundry. Church: I set aside one hour a week to formally thank God for everyone and everything we have. Supper: The family God gave me needed to be fed, and on Sundays I kept it simple. Laundry: This never-ending chore could be done the other days of the week. Making Sundays different helped me feel a bit rested come Monday morning.
What does this verse in Mark’s gospel mean, ‘the sabbath was made for people’? Look at it this way: What would happen if you didn’t insist your toddler take a nap or go to bed at night? Is it cruel to demand that he stop playing and go to sleep? No; you know that the child needs to rest to have the energy to run and play when he’s awake.
God designated the sabbath as a day of rest for our benefit. We slow down to relax, talk, listen, and laugh with each other, and thank God for gifting us with each other. Also, He wasn’t talking about neglecting the people around us (see Mark 3:4). For example, there’s much work inherent with raising children that could be called Love in Action: tasks like feeding them, reading to them, hiking and playing with them, and teaching them. If you love to cook and it doesn’t feel like work to you, then this could be the day the whole family shares in the creative fun of preparing dinner together. And if your employer requires you to go to work on Sunday (or Saturday if that’s your sabbath), and not showing up would cause you to lose the job that allows you to provide for your family, then you may designate a different day as your sabbath.
There’s more to it than not working, too. It’s acknowledging that God created all people and all of nature. It’s ‘taking church outside’ by making space in our hearts for the people around us and seeing the wonders of the natural world as exactly that – wonders.
The point is to set aside time to rest, recharge, and refresh our bodies, our minds, and our spirits so as to strengthen our relationships with each other and with our Lord.
It’s taking one day a week to unwrap and see as new the countless gifts God has given us, and thanking Him for all of them.
“Lord, thank You for insisting we take time to rest.”
Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell Comments are always welcome!
Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!
If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly to your inbox, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.
p.s.
We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/...
No comments:
Post a Comment