Week eighteen of ordinary time
by Andy Bast
Psalm 51:10-12
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 103
Q. What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment?
A. First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people to learn what God’s Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to God publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor.
Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.
Sabbath Mortification as Rest
The Heidelberg Catechism was written in 1563 in Germany and was intended to guide youth, pastors, and teachers within the Reformed tradition. It has stood the test of time and remains an important teaching tool of the church today. The first part of the answer to Q & A 103 makes a lot of sense to me. In order to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,” (Exodus 20:8) Christians are called to attend worship where we hear the Word of God, we share in the communion of the body of Christ and the blood of Christ, we pray publicly (for our faith is not a private matter between us and God!), we engage in acts of mercy giving our money and striving to end poverty.
But today I am reflecting a bit more on the second part. Sabbath rest includes resting from evil. A way to keep the Sabbath holy and extend Sabbath to every day of our lives is to stop sin within us, with God’s help. Sabbath involves repentance and this too can be a form of rest! There is something about the activity of evil in each of us that is contrary to holiness. For our God is perfect in holiness and we are called to imitate God. But there is also something about sin that is contrary to life. What a thought! I am called to “rest from my evil ways” as an act of obedience but also because sin is my undoing. But it is Jesus Christ, through the Spirit who works renewal or a new creation in me, drawing me to the eternal Sabbath that will be reality in the new creation.
In On the Incarnation, the great early African theologian Athanasius writes of the human sinful state before Christ’s coming as a state of corruption that required Christ to make a new creation in us by his death and resurrection:
For by the sacrifice of His own body He did two things: He put an end to the law of death which barred our way; and He made a new beginning of life for us, by giving us the hope of resurrection. By man death has gained its power over men; by the Word made Man death has been destroyed and life raised up anew.
Christ has defeated the power of sin which is death. But we still feel it’s corrupting echoes and we need the Holy Spirit to renew us and sanctify us every day.
Prayer
O holy one of God, thank you for your creative power in my life. Thank you that you bring life from death. Thank you that on the cross and through your resurrection you defeated death and sin once and for all. By your Spirit, renew me each day. Give me rest from my sinful ways. Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.