Sabbath Spirit
Mission to the Vulnerable is the Heart of the Sabbath, in the First Century and Today.
Every day of the week has a particular spirit. A distinctive state of mind.
Start with Fish Friday. This comes out of the Catholic tradition of avoiding meat on Fridays, as a way of honoring the sacrifice of Jesus on Good Friday. No beef, pork, chicken, or turkey — just fish.
Then you have Steak Saturday. This observance goes in the opposite direction, with people enjoying a thick, juicy steak on a grill.
How about Sunday Roast? This British tradition revolves around a big meal including roasted meat, vegetables and gravy. Nancy and I have so enjoyed having Sunday Roast with our daughter Sadie and fiancé Rob in England.
And then there is Meatless Monday, often associated with vegetarian or vegan meals.
But how about Taco Tuesday?
“No one really knows who first came up with the idea of Taco Tuesday.” So writes Jeff Beer in Fast Company magazine. It is not rooted in an ancient Christian tradition, nor is it connected to a modern desire to eat a vegan diet.
After doing some digging, Beer found a newspaper ad from 1933. The White Star Cafeteria in El Paso, Texas, invited people to come to the restaurant on Tuesday and enjoy three “Mexican tacos” for 15 cents. Yes, 15 cents. What a deal. Then, in 1973, a South Dakota drive-in ran an ad in the Rapid City Journal with the line “Stop In on Taco Tuesday.”
Suddenly, Tuesday was the day for tacos. It is not just a slogan, but a state of mind.
All of which leads to the question: What is Sabbath Spirit?
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus starts his ministry on the Sabbath in his hometown of Nazareth. He goes to the synagogue, picks up the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:16-19).
Tuesdays may be for tacos, but the Sabbath is the day to receive the Spirit and work to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. The spirit of the day is proclaiming God’s favor to all who are in need.
Sabbath Spirit: It is not a slogan, but instead it is a state of mind. Sabbath Spirit is felt when God’s favor is directed toward vulnerable people.
We need to maintain this state of mind whenever we gather on the Sabbath. It is more important than Sanctuary architecture, musical styles, or audiovisual systems. A church can have all kinds of sights and sounds, but what really matters is that it has the proper Sabbath Spirit.
The concern of Jesus for the vulnerable begins in Sunday morning worship. In the synagogue, Jesus says that he is anointed, which means that he is the Messiah. In the Hebrew language, the Messiah is the “anointed one.” Jesus has been anointed by the powerful Spirit of God to “bring good news to the poor.”
If you are poor, or if you are afraid of becoming poor, Jesus has good news for you. If you are feeling poor in spirit, Jesus has good news for you. If you are feeling distressed or depleted, Jesus has good news for you. The good news is that nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Jesus is Immanuel, a Hebrew word which means “God is with us.” Jesus is God with you, today and every day.
If you put your trust in Jesus, he will always work for good in your life. He has come to proclaim release, recovery, and freedom. Whatever is trapping you, blinding you, or oppressing you, Jesus wants to free you and heal you.
Luke says that Jesus comes home to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit” (4:14). Jesus is filled with the life-changing, world-shaking Holy Spirit of God. At this point in his story, Jesus has been baptized by John, the Spirit has descended on him, and he has been tempted by the devil. You heard that story in last week’s post, when Jesus showed “The Power of No.”
Now, Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth, as is his custom. He stands up to read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, which is a fitting selection — Jesus goes on to quote Isaiah eight times during his ministry, more than any other prophet. He reads the passage which begins, “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me” (Isaiah 61:1). Then he rolls up the scroll, sits down, and the eyes of all are fixed on him. He says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).
That’s a bold statement, isn’t it? But Jesus has every right to make this statement. The scripture is truly fulfilled and completed in him. He brings the words of Isaiah to life: Good news to the poor, release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind. His mission is to free the oppressed and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. His ministry reverses the expectations of the people of Nazareth, focusing attention on those who are usually overlooked: Women, the poor, captives, the blind, and the oppressed.
Such mission and ministry are at the heart of Sabbath Spirit. Not only in first-century Galilee, but in twenty-first-century America.
Christians are often going to disagree about how we should pursue this ministry and mission. Conservatives will favor one approach, and progressives another. Sometimes the debates can become quite heated. But we should never disagree on our goals: Good news to the poor and release to the captives. On those goals, Jesus wants us to be united.
So, how do we do this? I think we do it whenever we focus on providing help to vulnerable people. In Honduras this month, the mission team of Fairfax Presbyterian Church (FPC) installed a solar system at a Youth for Christ camp called Rancho Vida. Helped by a grant from National Capital Presbytery (NCP), the system included 15 solar panels, an inverter, and a battery storage system. Combined with the 14 panels installed last year, this system makes Rancho Vida almost completely solar powered.
Down in Honduras, Christian leaders have very little money, but they have a lot of sun. FPC and NCP are helping to free up money for them to use to do ministry with the children and youths of the region. That’s good news for the poor.
FPC is moving forward with the Glebe View Affordable Housing Project. Over the next year, the church will build 10 townhomes in the church parking lot. This will free people who are trapped in expensive rentals, and give them a shot at home ownership. Glebe View is a ministry of release to the captives.
Jesus also offers “recovery of sight to the blind,” and sets free “those who are oppressed” (4:18). Jesus is an exceptionally effective healer who goes directly from the synagogue in Nazareth to the town of Capernaum. There, he cleanses a man with an unclean spirit, heals the mother-in-law of Simon, cleanses a leper, and heals a paralytic. Jesus wants to eliminate any physical or spiritual condition that prevents people from enjoying fullness of life.
Christ’s work continues today whenever Christians practice medicine or provide counseling, and when people who struggle with addiction find recovery in 12-step groups, whether they are addicted to alcohol, narcotics, or sex.
Finally, Jesus proclaims “the year of the Lord’s favor” (4:19). This means that all of his talk about good news, release, recovery, and freedom is coming true in the moment! It is being fulfilled, achieved and brought to completion. Jesus is not talking about good things in heaven but is saying that God is showing his favor on that Sabbath day. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled” — not tomorrow (4:21).
The year of the Lord’s favor is nothing less than a sign of the kingdom of God. As Jesus says a little later, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God … I was sent for this purpose” (4:43). The year of the Lord’s favor continues when Christians support drop-in centers for the homeless. The scripture is fulfilled when people of faith free the oppressed by building affordable housing. The kingdom of God is seen when congregations put more effort into mission than they do into church maintenance.
Is this work controversial? Sometimes it is. People do not always agree with putting affordable housing in a church parking lot or drop-in centers for the homeless in a business district. But controversy around ministry and mission is nothing new. When Jesus tells the people of Nazareth that God has a history of helping outsiders like the people of Sidon and Syria, they try to throw him off a cliff. Fortunately, he walks safely through the midst of them. And so can we.
In Nazareth, Jesus shows true Sabbath Spirit by making a dynamic response to human need, and by showing deep concern for the most vulnerable people. We join his work in our concern for each other, and for the people around us. More important than Taco Tuesday or even Fish Friday, this Sabbath Spirit should always be alive and well right here, right now — at the heart of the church.