Lord of the Sabbath

I really love the combination of service and rest that Jesus portrays in the first three chapters of Mark. There is a clear abundance of activity...healing, walking, dining, answering...but then there is also retreat. I love that when Jesus wakes up early to pray that He doesn't get put out with being interrupted. I would...I mean really...if I'd been helping people all night long and I get up early to commune with the Father...then I want to commune with the Father...not run off again and do more of what made me lose sleep in the first place. Again, my selfish nature is evident.

Jesus has such a clear sense of why He is where He is and what He is to be about. He doesn't allow physical things to bind Him. That sounds really nice, but when I say physical things, I mean sleeping and eating. At the end of chapter 3, His family is coming to rescue Him and take charge of Him because He is being irresponsible...He isn't taking time or getting space even to eat. He effectively sends them away.

In the middle of these episodes, at the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3, lie two very closely related stories about violating the Sabbath laws. In an interesting contrast to the surrounding words about ignoring one's physical needs to be about the things of the Kingdom, we find Jesus and His disciples breaking laws in order to eat. When questioned, He declares that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

I love this. The Sabbath is made for man to rest...to enjoy...to take pleasure in. This is a time and place carved out by God to be a central, focused rest for the good of His people. Of course there should be eating on this day. Of course there should be healing and restoration on this day, but somehow, these very things cause even the Pharisees and Herodians to collaborate about how to kill Jesus.

I find myself acting only on either extreme of these chapters. Some days, I'm full of activity to the point of being willing to deny myself rest and food in order to "get things accomplished." Then, other days, I recognize my need for rest and make my self a glutton for it. I eat and sleep and recline with no motivation to do otherwise. Really, the problem, I think, isn't so much in the ability to behave one way or the other. Jesus exhibits tireless work and glorious rest. The problem lies in the will behind each behavior.

I may serve earnestly and tirelessly...and on a good day, without complaint...but then concern of self takes over and rest is required. The transition from one behavior to another is completely subject to my whims and moods...and not so much subject to God's will. The piece of God's character I want to learn here is how to work and how to rest...and mostly, how to do that as a subject of His will and not my whims.