“Bring no burdens
out of your houses on the Sabbath…”
–Jeremiah 17:22
–Jeremiah 17:22
This verse comes in the midst of a discussion of the
importance of keeping the Sabbath (Jer. 17:19-27). And,
interestingly enough, the emphasis is placed on the rewards that will arise
from keeping the Sabbath: security and safety and peace for Judah and
Jerusalem, a line of Davidic kings, the promise that Jerusalem and the Temple
will be known as a place of pilgrimage and sacred offerings. All of this
simply by keeping the Sabbath. “Bring no burdens out of your houses on
the Sabbath…” “Bring no burdens through the gates…” The prophet, speaking
for God, promises Israel that if they will simply keep the Sabbath, their kings
and their people will continue to live in God’s Holy City forever.
According to Rabi Jacob Neusner[1]
the Jews emphasis on the Sabbath wasn’t necessarily so much a negative rule
(forbidding activity) as it was a positive teaching. He says that the real
emphasis was on being like God, following God’s example from Genesis of resting
on the 7th day. This wasn’t
just about behavior, it was really about identity. The Jews were a people who kept the Sabbath,
they were a people who followed God, and keeping the Sabbath was a very
important way of living that identity. It reminded them (as individuals) to put
their trust not in their own efforts, but in the Lord. And as a community, it
gave them the opportunity to renew relationships, rebuild connections, relearn
their interdependence. By keeping the
Sabbath (all, together), families, households the community became stronger.
They had this shared experience, a day of rest that helped build cohesion among
them. It wasn’t just about the rules, it was also about the renewing.
So, I look again at this verse and hear God demanding not a
“day,” so much as a way of life. And, enlightened by Jesus in the
Gospels, I hear the affirmation that this way of life isn’t just a rule against
work because certain kinds of work, are clearly allowed. Jesus heals on the
Sabbath, Jesus lets His disciples gather grain to eat on the Sabbath, and Jesus
reminds the Pharisees that doing good on the Sabbath was never completely forbidden
(ex. rescuing a sheep or caring for the sick). So, what is this “burden”
we are not to bring out of our houses? What does God mean by this?
Clearly it is about more than a wheelbarrow full of dirt, or
a basket of dirty laundry. I keep hearing something more complex, perhaps something
to do with another kind of burden... our fears, our longings, our anxieties… And I keep hearing the Lord saying –Lay that
burden down. Here I have something else for you… Come to me, abide with me, and I will give
you rest (Mt. 11: 28-30).
The promise of God that if we will simply keep the Sabbath,
we will endure in peace and security, seems like so little to ask. Is that what
frightens us about it? All God is asking
is that we rest. Do no work. Just take a day off! One day a week… And yet, it
seems almost impossible for so many of us.
I am reminded of what Pascal wrote:
All of the world’s
evil comes from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room...
...for even 15 minutes, one might add!
And there is your key. Bring no burdens out of your
house on the Sabbath… not much to ask, but oh so hard to do.
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