Xavier Pacheco

As I watched the Colorado sun set behind Pikes Peak, I realized that the Sabbath was also making its departure. I felt a longing for its return grow within me. I also felt a twinge of anxiety for the week ahead.  This coming January will mark three years since we made the decision to set apart the Sabbath in a much different way than simply calling it "the Sabbath" and going to church. 

Every week we welcome the Sabbath on its eve, just prior to sunset, with a meal, candles and blessings. Then we bid it farewell after sunset the following day in the same manner. These little ceremonies serve as markers for our family and they help us to regard the Sabbath as holy, set-apart; it is a very special time that God has given to us.

During the Sabbath day, my family and I engage in "Sabbath things" like reading and studying of scripture, listening to praise music, playing bible games, conversing about our faith. We fellowship with our brothers and sisters, watch Christian movies or engage in other activities we consider, "appropriate."  Though we do not always succeed, we do our best to protect the Sabbath by building a hedge around it to keep it sanctified.

During these years, the Sabbath has become a necessity. We eagerly anticipate its arrival and dread its departure. As I watched the sun disappear, I thought to myself, "Oh that that time would stop during the Sabbath."

How fitting, for it is in this manner that the Sabbath is a foretaste of the final rest we will experience in Jesus, our Saviour when He returns.  It is one of those "already but not yet" aspects of our faith that we get to experience now but not fully. It combines creation commemoration, salvation experience and anticipation of the final consummation and complete restoration of God's Kingdom.  Indeed, we should be longing for Jesus' return.

So, we ended our Sabbath by wishing each other a good week ahead, "Shavua Tov!"  We had supper, Anne put the children to bed while I washed the dishes, a ritual I enjoy as I use that time to reflect on the day. I smiled and thought to myself, "Perhaps next week, time will stop during the Sabbath."

Shabbat Shalom!

This Sabbath was a real treat.  My family and I attended the presentation of Fiddler on the Roof performed by the Pikes Peak Village Singers.  The performance was excellent, our children were enthralled by the acting, dancing, music and singing by these young and very talented performers.  My 5-year old daughter sung herself to sleep to the tune, "If I Were a Rich Man." 

A favorite scene in the play is the Sabbath evening.  This particular scene resonates well with our family. On the Eve of every Sabbath we too gather around the table, Anne lights the candles, then she and the children sing the opening blessing, "Baruch atah Adonai...."  It is an evening of blessings.  I bless the wine and the bread (challah) which Anne makes! I bless Anne (after reading Proverbs 31) and then I bless each of my children.  Anne blesses me by reading Psalms 1, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the Torah of Adonai...." My son Zachary recites John 1:1-10 from memory, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...."  We remember that we are celebrating God's creative and redemptive activity and we look forward to our final rest in Messiah when He returns. 

In Fiddler, one gets a glimpse of the connectedness of the Jewish people during the Sabbath prayer. In the scene, just before sundown, each household in the village simultaneously welcomes the Sabbath with friends, a meal, blessings, song and God's presence. The importance of the Sabbath cannot be emphasized enough when we consider the long history of Jewish people scattered and persecuted, yet still, when possible, however possible, the Sabbath was welcomed.  There is a saying that, "The Jews did not keep the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath kept the Jews."

While we can all appreciate the performance of Fiddler, do we really connect with the history it portrays?  After the performance, Anne was asked by one woman if she had felt connected to "her people".  How is it, we wondered, that non-Jewish Christians have difficulty connecting to their own Jewish heritage?  Many Christians really know very little about their Hebraic origins which is odd since Christianity is the daughter of second temple Judaism.  Perhaps such history is too far back.  Perhaps such heritage is too far removed, after all we can more easily relate to our Scottish protestant, Irish catholic or fill in the blank heritage.  Perhaps digging into this heritage is too unpleasant when we dig up some of the realities regarding the history of the church and the Jewish people.  Fiddler was described as a story of a people and their God. I wondered if we really believed that or was that just a nice thing to say. It was interesting that the Fiddler presentation left out the scene where the Jews were referred to as, "Christ killers." 

I believe we would do well to dig into this heritage.  We have much to learn and not simply historically and culturally, but theologically as well. Yes, I believe we would do very well to gain an understanding and appreciation for the people whose faith gave birth to our own. 

So, this Sabbath, I felt that I would point out a few resources worth reading.

1. The first is an article by Dr. Richard Pratt.  This article addresses some theological aspects of the church's relationship to Israel from a covenantal perspective.  While some may disagree with Dr. Pratt's solidly covenantal stance, I think all will agree with and appreciate his respect, gratitude and sense of indebtedness for the Jewish people.

To The Jew First, A Reformed Perspective

2. This is a link to my review of the book, Anguish of the Jews by Father Flannery.  I'll repeat my personal conviction that, "This book is required reading for every person who calls himself a Christian. It is simply necessary history. It is also necessary to uphold the Church’s commitment to the Jewish people."  Click here for my full review of Anguish of the Jews.

3.  This is a link to some wonderful teachings by John Piper on the book of Romans entitled: Romans: The Greatest Letter Ever Written.  Unlike many teachers, Piper doesn't just hop over Romans 9-11 (which deals specifically with the church/Israel relationship) but rather, digs deep.  Thank you John Piper!

4. For Christians interested in learning about the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, visit www.Hebrew4Christians.com.  The proprietor of this site, John Parsons, has done a fantastic job of researching and compiling information to assist Christians in their own research and interest in their Hebraic heritage.

5. Chaim is a reformed ministry to the Jewish people. They have some very interesting articles.

6. Finally there has been an ongoing and increasing interest in the Hebraic heritage of Christianity resulting in numerous online and written resources.  Much of it is very practical in terms of teaching about Messiah through the festivals, learning Jewish culture and history during the 2nd temple era, studies on the Torah and its relevance to Christian life.  Much of these materials are excellent and historically and theologically relevant. However, I must issue a warning because not all are biblically sound.

So why do I believe it to be necessary and beneficial to learn about and embrace our Jewish heritage as Christians?  John Piper, in commenting on anti-Semitism, provides some insight that I believe applies well: 

"Because the Jewish root—the Jewish fathers, the Jewish Scripture, the Jewish promises, the Jewish history, the Jewish Messiah—supports you, not the other way around. Being a Christian means becoming a true Jew. Being a Christian means finding your ancestry in Abraham and his offspring. Being a Christian means believing and loving the Jewish Torah, and Writings, and Prophets. Being a Christian means being grafted in to the Jewish covenant. Proud anti-Semitism proves we do not know who we are—or we are not who we say we are." ¹

Shabbat Shalom and L'Chaim!

¹John Piper, The (Jewish) Root Supports You, Through Your Faith Alone, Desiring God, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2004/160_The_Jewish_Root_Supports_You_through_Your_Faith_Alone/

I did not post last week because our Sabbath was spent, enjoying God's creation at Grand Teton National Park. We camped for five days and six nights in one of the most beautiful places in the world.   The psalmist wrote truly:

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1

In my last post on the Sabbath, I said that the Sabbath attests to God as the Creator of all things.  When we look upon the magnificence of creation, it should compel us to worship the Creator, not creation itself.  Certainly, God's creation is worthy of our appreciation and stewardship, but never our worship. 

I wonder to what level we fail in directing our worship to God. I'm speaking primarily to those of us who call ourselves "Christians."  I can only expect non-Christians to worship "other gods", though they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20).  We, however, know that God alone is worthy of our worship.  So, I'm leaving this post open for discussion, I am wondering how we Christians fail in properly directing our worship to God.  I am not necessarily looking for a list of the things we worship, but rather how we fall short in our worship of God. I look forward to your comments.

Shabbat Shalom!

This week as the Sabbath approached my thoughts shifted from why we observe the Sabbath to why we celebrate it. We should not think of the Sabbath as a cyclical, repetitive event but rather as a final celebration of God's creative and redemptive activity.  A popular and faulty teaching is that the Sabbath is a necessary rest that allows us to be replenished for the upcoming six days of work. This teaching is antithetical to what Sabbath rest conveys.  In the creation account, God rested on the Sabbath when He had finished His work. There was no more work to be done in creation. God did not rest on the seventh day so that he could repeat His creative activity for another six days again and again. His creation was final and it was good.  As we celebrate the Sabbath we ought to be entering its rest in that frame of mind.  Yet, is it realistic to think that we can actually finish our work in the six days preceding the Sabbath?  In my line of work, this is unrealistic and unthinkable, oftentimes I approach the Sabbath with unfinished business.  I have heard the argument that it is more honoring to God that we finish our work rather than keep the Sabbath, but how does this line up with the theology behind the Sabbath?  One teaching of the Jewish sages on Exodus 20:9 that I believe well reflects the meaning of Sabbath rest is that we are to "Rest on the Sabbath as if all your work were done. Another interpretation: Rest even from the thought of labor."  ¹ .

This is utterly important because the Sabbath attests to God as the creator of all things. This truth, so foundational to our Christian faith, is expressed as a witness when we celebrate the Sabbath and affirms this essential creed.  Our unfinished efforts speak only to our finite limitations. Our celebration of the Sabbath, speaks to our acknowledgement of God's infinite being and perfect finisher of that which He begins. This has profound implications in the Sabbath's relation to God's redemptive purpose (a post for later).  To bring our "finished" business as a way to honor God, above His sanctified and holy day is no different than to bring an unworthy sacrifice in the manner of Cain.  George Elliott beautifully illustrates this purpose in the Sabbath:

The reason of the institution of the Sabbath is one which possesses an unchanging interest and importance to all mankind. The theme of the Creation is not particular to Israel, nor is worship of the Creator confined to the children of Abraham. The primary article of every religious creed, and the foundation of all true religion, is faith in one God as the Maker of all things. Against atheism, which denies the existence of a personal God; against materialism, which denies that this visible universe has its roots in the unseen; and against secularism, which denies the need of worship, the Sabbath is therefore an eternal witness. It symbolically commemorates that creative power which spoke all things into being, the wisdom which ordered their adaptations and harmony, and the love which made, as well as pronounced, all 'very good.' It is set as the perpetual guardian of man against the spiritual infirmity which has everywhere led him to a denial of God who made him, or to the degeneration of that God into a creature made with his own hand. ²

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I urge you, bring not your unfinished (or finished) efforts as that by which to honor God. Rather, rest in Him and his Sabbath which He made for you (Mark 2:27). In a day when we tend to super-spiritualize God's ordinances we forget that they were given to us as blessings and reminders of who His is.

There is much to be said about the Sabbath and particularly as it relates to redemption in Christ. I intend to share my thoughts weekly, following the Sabbath. I will draw from various sources, Christian and Jewish. I look forward to receiving your thoughts and insights as well. 

Until next week,

   Shabbat Shalom!

  ¹ Quoted in: Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man. (New  York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951), 32.

 ² George Elliott, The Abiding Sabbath. (New  York, 1884), 17-18.