Work|

'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 2:3 NRSV)

What are we to make of this at the start of the 21st century? Many of us live in a frenetic, 24/7 urban society where our participation in the work-hard, play-hard culture give us our very identity. By producing and consuming we gain inclusion in our social economy. How then shall we 'Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.' (Exodus 20:8)? What is the purpose of the sabbath, and how should Christian sabbath observance look?

Biblical Origins
The biblical origins of the sabbath are found in two key passages. Karl Barth understands Genesis 2:3 as demonstrating 'the institution of the Sabbath as the goal… of creation' (1). It is to be achieved by the explicit command in Exodus 20:8-11 to abstain from the activity of work.

Many of the later Old Testament writings are indictments of the Israelites' desecration of the sabbath by continuing business as usual (Nehemiah 13:15-18). However, the Sabbath is not solely orientated to the abstention from work: Leviticus 23:3 describes the sabbath as a day for 'holy convocation'. As well as a worshipping assembly, sacrifices were also increased for the sabbath day (Numbers 28:9-10). As a community day of holy devotion, the sabbath was rigorously protected by Jewish law.

The Gospel reports of Jesus' words and actions suggest that by his time, the sabbath had become a paragon of legalism and pious condemnation of those who did not observe its stringent regulations. Marcus Borg's seminal work on Jesus' teaching (2) claims that the legalism surrounding the sabbath was a result of a Pharisaic understanding of God's command to the Israelites: 'Be holy, because I am holy' (Leviticus 11:44). With the continual threat that Roman occupation posed towards faithful Jewish life, Borg argues that a regime of exclusivity and strict separation from non-Jewish influences was instituted by the Pharisees to protect Jewish ordinances from syncretism.

Jesus and the Sabbath
There are several stories which indicate that Jesus undermined this agenda by his words and actions regarding the sabbath. In Matthew 12:1-14, Luke 6:1-11 and Mark 2:23-3:6 we see the same story told of Jesus' disciples plucking corn to eat when they were hungry, and of Jesus healing a man with a shrivelled hand. In the former, the actions of the disciples was perceived as harvesting - and therefore forbidden on the sabbath; in the latter, it seems that although there is no explicit command not to heal, Jesus' critics viewed it as work - especially as the ailment was not life-threatening (See Luke 13:14). In Mark's account, these two stories hinge on the enigmatic saying 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath' (Mark 2:27). Jesus' message is that acts of mercy must take priority over regulations which inhibit the restoration of God's order among his people.

His attitude towards healing is elaborated in Luke 13:10-17. Jesus confronts his critics by accusing them of meeting their own needs (by caring for livestock) while condemning those who meet the needs of God's children. In Matthew 12:7, Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 'For I desire mercy, not sacrifices' against the complaints of his detractors. The sabbath that Jesus advocates is one on which God's people may be restored both individually and in community to their proper praise of God. Borg summarizes Jesus' attitude to the sabbath thus: 'The sabbath was a day for works of compassion… it was [to be] subordinated to deeds of mercy rather than to the quest for holiness.'(3)

The 21st Century Sabbath
Given this model, what should a sabbath day look like at the start of the 21st century? Given the attitude Jesus displayed, it seems important to avoid any forms of petty legalism and false piety towards contemporary sabbath observance. The priorities of the sabbath - mercy, compassion and community - are certainly not bound to any one particular day. However, the Old Testament view of sabbath emphasises the importance of abstention from the normal daily duties of sustenance and self-provision. Periods of rest - or restoration - should be commonplace in our routines. The early church set aside the first day of the week to meet together and share communion (Acts 20:7).

Our Christian heritage has accordingly set aside Sunday (rather than the Jewish seventh day) as the sabbath day. This offers two further sabbath precepts: Firstly, rather than being an afterthought to the working week, we should view the sabbath as the essential preparation for the following days; secondly, our sabbath begins with Eucharistic thanksgiving - our restored relations with God provide the appropriate context from which to restore relations with others.

Legal Protection
On a practical level, Sunday is still protected in the English legal system for many workers (we'll come to this below). Essentially we are dealing with an ethical question: how may we imitate Christ in our sabbath observance? Inevitably, this issue raises more questions than can be answered here, but there are three ways in which we are initially challenged in our deliberations.

Firstly, are we setting time aside for our relationship with God and others? As a day of holy assembly, do we prioritise our individual and community thanksgiving, repentance and devotion? Secondly, are we salt and light in our community? (Matthew 5:13-16)

Sunday Trading
The issue of Sunday trading is contentious: avoiding false piety and petty legalism (see Colossians 2:16-17), we should not allow our attitude to condemn those who work or shop on a Sunday. Many people are forced to shop on Sundays due to the demands of their working week. Similarly, some forms of work are dedicated to acts of mercy entirely appropriate for the sabbath - the obvious example is those in the medical profession where shift system necessitate work on Sundays, but we might also view pub landlords as facilitators of community.

However, we may choose not to legitimate the self-interested, capitalist society in which we live by not visiting Virgin Megastore to buy CDs on a Sunday, but waiting until Monday instead. Certain workers are also legally protected from working on Sundays by the Employment Rights Act of 1996. Any shop worker may submit a written statement to their employer requesting that they do not work on a Sunday. Should they suffer any redress in the form of discrimination or redundancy, they may take their employer to a tribunal(4). Sadly, not many employers bring this to the attention of their workforce!

Thirdly, does our sabbath demonstrate mercy? Family Sunday lunch offers a great opportunity to invite people to share a meal who would otherwise have no place to enjoy fellowship. Sunday can be used to visit those who are homeless, sick, imprisoned or excluded from society in other ways. Jesus' table fellowship and acts of healing demonstrate that far from contaminating or defiling a person's holiness, to be merciful to others brings healing and increases holiness.

Careful consideration of the sabbath raises more questions than answers. It seems though that there is a balance to be found: the sabbath observance endorsed by Jesus should not be confined to any single day, it should be part of our daily lives; and yet the routine of sabbath observance on a particular day may be a highly visible testimony to the purposes of God. It is clear that this is not a matter appropriate for rigid, legalistic discussion, but rather a paradox to be enjoyed and worked out over time. We should adopt a joyful approach towards sabbath observance - as one songwriter says, we can be 'easy like Sunday morning'!

Graham Hunter is on the staff of St Stephens, Westbourne Park

Return to top

Footnotes

1 Barth, Karl, Dogmatics in Outline, SCM: London, 2001, p43

2 Borg, Marcus, Conflict, Holiness and Politics in the Teachings of Jesus, Edward Mellin Press: New York, 1984.

3 Ibid. , p151

4 For full details of Sunday Trading rules and worker definitions in the Employment Rights Act 1996 please seek legal advice.