In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” – John 5:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 15, 2014): John 5

I unplugged for a while this summer. I didn’t worry about my cell phone (to be honest I often seem to forget my cell phone somewhere and have to go looking for it and check the messages, but this summer I didn’t carry it or worry about who was trying to get hold of me.) I refused to be a slave to my e-mail. I even left my blog for a while (for those who have been reading my blog every day, the truth was that I stockpiled a bunch of entries and then scheduled them to go out daily as if I was still here on a daily basis. Sorry for the deception, but I’m back now.) But I just needed some time to do something different, and different for me included sitting on a beach and reading some Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy and Dean Koontz. Koontz especially continually amazes me with regard to his deep spiritual insight in the midst of his Stephen King like thrillers. And I rode a bike, walked along waterfronts, and spent time alone with my family. I needed the break. We all do. It is part of the Sabbath and Jubilee cycles that is proclaimed in the Bible. And the basis for our cycles is that even God rested. The opening story in the Bible clearly says that on the seventh day, God took a break.

While we accept that God took a break, what we sometimes miss is exactly what the Sabbath break means for God. For me, it was simple. I stopped carrying my cell phone and answering my emails and social media requests. In this way, I was able to get some time away. I assumed that for a little while the world would turn without me. It is these exact words that Mary Magdalene uses in trying to get Jesus to sleep for a while in “Jesus Christ, Superstar.” Mary tells Jesus “we want you to sleep well tonight, Let the world turn without you tonight, If we try, we'll get by, So forget all about us tonight.” (Everything’s Alright – Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice).

But the ancient belief system seemed to disagree. God was the force that held everything together. The Sun rose and set because God said so. Gravity worked and things were attracted to the ground for no other reason than God thought it was a good idea. In essence, the world turned because God was at work. If God suddenly took a break, none of the things that we take for granted would happen. This was all evidence of a God who was at work caring for creation. Okay, we know that God has set laws in place that work, and that in essence God could step away and everything would carry on, but that was not what the ancients believed.

Maybe for us the question could be formed this way – is there any use praying on Saturday (the traditional Sabbath) or Sunday (the Christian Sabbath). Maybe God is resting and has walked away from his cell phone; maybe on the Sabbath God takes a much needed break from us. But Jesus argues that that line of reasoning is flawed, because God is always at work. In the care for creation there is no rest in God. And according to Jesus, the same holds for us. Whatever the Sabbath rest is, it is not the cessation of caring for people – or for creation. God never walks away from his cell phone and takes a break (further proof for those that need it that I am not God.) Jesus says that God’s work of caring continues, and that he never rests from it.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Matthew 12

Personal Note: Happy anniversary to lovely wife of 33 years, Nelda.