St. Luke 14:1–11
In the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit –
Every Sunday morning is Easter morning. Sunday
is the one day of the week that has been forever marked by the resurrection of
Jesus. Every Sunday is a celebration of our Lord’s victory over sin and the
grave. It is the Lord’s day. That’s why we come to church on Sunday.
But why come to church at all? Usually
at this point, someone mentions the Sabbath Day and the 3rd
Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy. But that doesn’t exactly answer the question: why come to
church? To get that answer we really have to ask: what is the Sabbath for?
Naturally, we expect the 3rd
Commandment to be the final answer, but the commandment actually points us back
to something far older than the Ten Commandments, far older than Mount Sinai or
the Law given on stone tablets. It points us back to the very beginning – back
to creation itself. From Exodus 20: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you
shall labor, and do all your work, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord
your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter,
your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner
who is within your gates. For in six days the
Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
(Ex. 20:8–11) The Hebrew word “Sabbath” means “rest.” A Sabbath is a day of
rest – and in the Old Testament, the seventh day of the week was a Sabbath because
it was on the seventh day of creation that God rested from His work of creating
the world. He worked for six days creating all that there is and then He
blessed the seventh day and made it holy because He was finished.
So
every seven days there is a holy day. Holy things belong to the holy Lord. So
every seven days there is a Lord’s day – it belongs to Him and His holy things.
And it is a day of rest – a Sabbath – for us.
But
of course, sinful humans have to mess this up. And the Pharisees
were very careful about what you could and could not do on a Sabbath. And so when Jesus
healed a man on the Sabbath, they were not pleased. “Is
it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent… And
he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox
that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him
out?” And they could not reply to these
things. But this was not
the first time Jesus argued with the Pharisees about the Sabbath. Previously, Jesus said to them, “Is
it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. (Mark 3:4)
On another occasion Jesus gave them
the answer: “The Sabbath
was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27–28)
So what is the Sabbath for? It
is for us! It is for our benefit. It does not exist for God’s benefit - so that
we do something for God. But the Son of Man, Jesus our Lord, is the Lord of the
Sabbath. He is the Lord of His holy day that He blessed and made for us and for
our benefit. The Lord of the Sabbath made the Sabbath for men, so that He might
serve men on this holy day with His good and holy gifts. And so that’s why we
come to church.
Christianity is the only
religion in the world with a command to do nothing. Rest – don’t work. Instead,
come to church – do nothing – hear God’s Word – rest. Luther gets all this in
his explanation to the 3rd Commandment. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We
should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold
it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Luther boils down the Sabbath to
its main point – what it’s really all about – it’s a time for us to hear God’s Word.
Don’t work – rest and hear God’s Word. Do you think it sounds contradictory to
say, “Do nothing. And come to church”? Do you think coming to church is doing
something? You might think that, but it’s not. You might think coming to church
is doing something for God. But it’s the exact opposite.
The Sabbath was made for man – not
for God. It’s for you. Coming to church means doing none for your things. It
means having the Lord do His holy things for you. At Church, in the Divine
Service, with His Holy Word and Holy Sacraments, God is serving you. He is
doing all the work. Just as He did all the work of creation. Just as He blessed
the Sabbath and made it holy. Just as He did all the work of healing that man. Just
as He did all the work of saving us from our sins. Just as He gives salvation
to us entirely by His grace and mercy. The Lord serves you. Today, on His holy
day, He does the work, and you rest.
We need a holy day. Did you know
that’s where we get the word “holiday”? Holiday – holy day. A holiday is a day
for resting and celebration. Think of that when you come to church. It’s a holy
day – a holiday just for you from the Lord.
So stop working. Stop worrying
about bills. Stop sports. Stop your plans. Your work is not more necessary than
the Lord’s Supper. Your family fun is not more valuable than God’s forgiveness.
Your way of life is not more important than His Word. Repent. Stop your work. Stop
your ideas. And let us gladly hear and learn the Lord’s Word.
Because we need this day with
the Lord’s holy things: Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, Holy Word, Holy
Communion. Those are what make it such a holy day. And those are what make us
the Lord’s holy people.
So really, what better day for
this holy day than Sunday? In the Old Testament, the holy day, the Sabbath was
on the seventh day of the week. It matched up with the days of creation. But
that part of the old Law is fulfilled in Christ. And He has brought us into something
new. A new testament in His blood. A new way is made for us to have peace and
rest. A new Sabbath is given that matches up with the days of Good Friday and
Easter. Your Sabbath Lord calls out, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest… My peace I give to you.” (Matt. 11:28; John
14:27)
So we come on Sunday, the new
Lord’s Day – the first day of the week, because it is the day He has blessed
and made holy by His resurrection. We worship the crucified and risen Lord of
the Sabbath. Here today, Jesus comes to heal you. He gives you His body and
blood to eat and drink and so gives you His peace and rest. Now that is a true
Sabbath. And a true reason to come to church.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus –
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Charlotte, IA
September 27, 2015
