Unwritten Rules of the Sabbath

Read Mark 2:23-28

“Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath.” –Mark 2:27

In every family, there are unwritten rules. Rules that are not spelled out and hung on the wall, but which everyone knows and follows all the same. Some of these rules are created with intention and training—making your bed every morning or carrying your dishes to the sink when you get up from the table. But many of the rules develop by habit and routine. In some cases, you may not be aware of those rules until someone new—who didn’t grow up with the rules—enters the family and unwittingly steps all over them.

Churches often function like big families, and we often have unwritten rules as well. As a pastor, you learn to spot these rules, especially when you are new to the church. All you have to do is try to change something—to offer communion in a different way, to change the order of worship, to introduce a new hymn or liturgical practice—and you’ll discover some of those rules.

There were a lot of unwritten rules in Jesus’ time, too. There were a lot of written rules, too—616 of them, to be exact, were written down in the Torah. But significant debate surrounded the application of those rules, especially around the Sabbath. What exactly should be counted as “work”?

One day, as the disciples were following Jesus near some corn fields, they plucked ears of corn to eat along the way. This was perfectly legal in that day and culture, as long as they did not take a blade to reap another person’s harvest (Deut 23:25). What made it illegal, at least in the eyes of the Pharisees, was the fact that this happened on the Sabbath. In plucking the corn and shucking the husk, the disciples were engaging in forbidden “work.”

In one of my previous churches, I had a volunteer in my children’s ministry with whom I struggled mightily. This particular woman loved kids—of that I am sure. But she also loved rules and order—two things that don’t always go hand-in-hand with children’s ministry. She did not like the way I ran the children’s ministry at all. My goal was to make sure kids had fun and felt at home in the church. So I didn’t mind if the kids ran in the building. I was fine if the kids wore hats in the sanctuary. I led games and designed crafts where kids got a little bit messy. My volunteer was OK with none of those things.

For many years, we worked for different purposes. I’m sure I was not her favorite pastor. She would often scowl and grumble about the “waste” and “mess” that my version of children’s ministry created. For my part, I winced every time she corrected a kid, worried that she was putting an unnecessary barrier between them and the church.

When the Pharisees criticized Jesus for allowing his disciples to pluck and eat corn on the Sabbath, Jesus responded by reminding them how even King David broke the law in order to satisfy his hunger. Then he added, “Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Jesus was reminding them of the order of creation. People were created on the sixth day of Creation; the Sabbath came after. God’s intention for the Sabbath was to bless His creation, not weigh it down with a bunch of rules and regulations.

I eventually learned how to get along with this volunteer, and we came to appreciate and love one another. I’m not sure she ever fully embraced my free-for-all approach to kids’ ministry, but we did agree on one thing: Teaching kids to love God—and teaching them that they were loved by God—was the most important thing of all. All the other rules come second to that.

Make me aware, O Lord, of the unwritten rules and burdens that I place upon others. Help me to see when those rules keep others from knowing either my love or Yours. Amen.