2026-07-12 Mt 13 01-09 How’s Your Sabbath Going?
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
O ye of the Emerald Coast, ye of white sandy beaches, ye of Jimmy Buffet strummin’ his 6-string on the front porch swing at the Flora-Bama. Don’t you think Jesus would fit right in, here? Maybe not at the Flora-Bama. Although, Our Lord did enjoy the company of fishermen and seafood. And wine. And he really did wear sandals everywhere.
Today’s scripture is about Jesus taking a Sabbath. Jesus enjoying THE Sabbath. Well, let me correct that. He’s TRYING to enjoy the Sabbath. TRYING to take a day off. And he’s doing it the way many of us do, the way the tourists do: a simple, relaxing vacation, getting out of the house and sitting at the beach. A holy place. A holy time.
Where is YOUR holy place? When do you take time to find the holy? And how religiously do you protect your holy Sabbaths?
AND OK, here’s another question:
How religiously do we honor Jesus’s Sabbath time?
How often do we give him time off, to rest on the shores of holiness?
How do we protect even HIM in this age of non-stop work and non-stop communication?
—
Work, work, work. Nobody works like Jesus. Is this a good thing?
We think of Jesus being with us 24/7, 365 days a year. He never closes. Like Waffle House. And, honestly, we kinda act like WE’RE the manager at the Holy House of Waffle and Jesus is OUR employee.
Think about it. We get mad at him if he shows up late… get grumpy if he leaves early. We’re always bossing him around, politely of course – passive-agressively telling him where to be – maybe outright aggressively – and telling him how to treat his customers, i.e., us. He’s a good worker. Nobody works like him.
But we also know – after all his time as our server, he’s got to have built up some serious PTO. But oops, we’re shorthanded, here at “The House.” Especially when the FIFA fans show up. Sorry, Jesus, but we need you here.
Today’s scripture is about one day, one long day. And the day starts in the previous chapter of Matthew, Chapter 12. It starts with the managers, the religious muckety-mucks, getting all over Jesus’s case. Ready to put him on a Personal Improvement Plan. They love The Manual. They can cite chapter and verse.
“Look here, “Hello, My Name Is Jesus.” You’re violating some very important paragraphs. We call them, “Commandments.””
It’s actually, 1-2-3-4, the Fourth Commandment. Exodus 20, verse 8: “You shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”
Chapter 35, verse 2 of Exodus is the ipso to that facto, saying, “Whoever does any work on the Sabbath is (quote) to be put to death.”
Management has caught Jesus red-handed on Sabbath Day security video. Item 1: He and his boys walking through a field and plucking cereal grain because they’re… hungry. That’s work! Guilty! Item 2: Here’s Jesus healing a man with a withered hand. More work! Guilty! Guilty! And Item 3: Here he is casting out a demon. Even more work! All on The Sabbath!
Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
Now, lest we start criticizing the Pharisees, let us examine the evidence of our own surveillance cameras.
We Christians of the New Testament are just as slavedriving, just in the opposite way. Back then, the leaders wouldn’t let Jesus lift a finger, under penalty of death. We – in our demanding management technique – we won’t even give Jesus a coffee break. Needing him by our side every minute of every day. And if he’s not? Well, history has already proven we’re not above giving him a death sentence. Done it before. We’ll do it again.
So – What’s a Savior to do?
Well, in the Gospel According to Matthew, we literally turn the page. Chapter 12 ends.
We pick up today’s reading. Chapter 13 starts with the very simple statement: “That same day Jesus went out of The House. Doesn’t say Waffle, but the analogy holds. It says, Jesus went out of The House and sat beside the sea.”
Like a greasy line cook sneaking out back for a smoke – it says – 13:1 – Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
Alone. By himself. Away from the five thousand hungry people demanding their loaves and fishes, scattered, smothered, and covered.
Jesus went out of the house. And sat beside the sea.
Sabbath. Sweet Sabbath for Our Lord.
—
I love going down to the beach at sunrise, down toward Ft. Pickens. Early in the day, before it gets hot and crowded, it’s so very, very peaceful. So quiet.
All the fisher-men and fisher-women with their poles in a line. Shell-hunters. Sweet older couples holding hands, strolling in blissful silence. People set up precisely aimed chairs so they can just stare at the Gulf, the gentle waves, the clouds. Seated just at the margins, so every few waves their toes are gently baptized.
It sounds to me like Psalm 65.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
People are so tumult-y.
I work on Sundays. I love what I do, but it’s not exactly Sabbath. Mornings at the beach are my holy time. My worship. My Sabbath. It’s my place to sneak out of The House, shut my brain off, and listen to nothing but the whispering surf, the calling seagulls, and – if I’m very quiet – time to hear God.
If going down to the sea is the one thing I can do as well as Jesus did, then at least I’ve got that going for me. I think the shore was a holy place and time for him, too. His sanctuary. His Sabbath.
Like Son, like Father. God created the world and all that’s in it in six days, and then on the Seventh, God rested. Because God knew working 24/7 isn’t healthy for anybody. Even for the Almighty himself.
Keeping the Sabbath is one of the Top Ten Commandments for a reason. It’s good for us. Spiritually, physically, mentally. And although we’re not going to get the death penalty if we don’t keep Sabbath, demanding constant productivity with maximum efficiency in minimum time isn’t going to prolong our lives.
Sabbath keeps us alive.
—
I saw a great quote the other day. It goes,
"I told God I'm overwhelmed. He said, then stop trying to do my job."
One of the ways we preserve our Sabbath time is by respecting the division of labor God has set up.
We might feel like we’re carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, we might take pride in carrying the weight of the world on our backs. “Behold my awesome strength!” But astronomically, the world has no weight. It’s just floating in space, zero gravity.
We impose gravity on our lives. We take on so much responsibility. So many yokes on our shoulders. It’s work. Unending work.
Of course, we have to bear our responsibilities. We have to care for our families, and pay the mortgage, and not forget the kids at swim practice again. We have to plan for the future.
But there’s a difference in planning for the future, and being its manager. God says, “Hey, y’all. Stop trying to do my job.”
Jesus went out of the house. And he sat beside the sea. The crowd finds him and drags him back to his job, which is, in their estimation, serving them. But he keeps a distance. He gets in a boat.
Think about what that does. Jesus went down to sit and stare at the ocean. Now, he’s positioned the entire crowd to be doing what he was doing. Staring out at the ocean, listening, peacefully, LISTENING for God’s word.
And what’s the first word he says to them? He says, “Listen!”
Listen!
Listen to him? Listen to the waves? Listen to the seagulls?
Maybe all of the above?
We don’t know. It’s just, “Listen!”
And then, see how artfully he does this? On this Sabbath, he tells them a story of a sower going out to sow. The seeds land on different soils. Some grow, some don’t. But at that point, the seeds are out of the sower’s hands. Now, God takes over, doing the work of the earth, and the seeds, and the weeds, and the rocks. It’s no longer the sower’s job.
Do you see how God uses the division of labor?
Anxiety is worrying about the future. We can plan for the future. But we get anxious, we can get sick, we can worry ourselves to death – to death – when we exceed our job description. When we have no Sabbath.
I can’t say for sure, but I think Jesus is saying, “Listen!” He’s asking, “What do you hear?” He’s saying, “I’ll do my job. You do yours. Don’t ask me to do your job for you.”
Sometimes we need to let Jesus have his time. And we do that by letting ourselves listen. Listen to the earth. Listen for God’s voice. A voice that – as the psalm says – echoes off the rocks, and trees, and skies, and seas – that comes from quiet walks, holding hands with a love, building sandcastles, breathing out. Breathing out. Breathing out.
—
So, back to the original question. How’s your Sabbath going? Maybe it’s on Sundays, here at church. Maybe it’s at a group gathering. Maybe it lasts 24 hours. Or one hour. Or the length of a song when you’re parked in the driveway.
I have this vision of Jesus appearing beside us during those times. Asking, “Isn’t this great?” I don’t know if he needs it as much as we do. Sure seems like he used to.
If keeping a little Sabbath is something you can do almost as well as Jesus, well, you’ve got that going for you.
Listen for the sounds of Sabbath.
Enjoy it.
Do a good job.
[eos]
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
O ye of the Emerald Coast, ye of white sandy beaches, ye of Jimmy Buffet strummin’ his 6-string on the front porch swing at the Flora-Bama. Don’t you think Jesus would fit right in, here? Maybe not at the Flora-Bama. Although, Our Lord did enjoy the company of fishermen and seafood. And wine. And he really did wear sandals everywhere.
Today’s scripture is about Jesus taking a Sabbath. Jesus enjoying THE Sabbath. Well, let me correct that. He’s TRYING to enjoy the Sabbath. TRYING to take a day off. And he’s doing it the way many of us do, the way the tourists do: a simple, relaxing vacation, getting out of the house and sitting at the beach. A holy place. A holy time.
Where is YOUR holy place? When do you take time to find the holy? And how religiously do you protect your holy Sabbaths?
AND OK, here’s another question:
How religiously do we honor Jesus’s Sabbath time?
How often do we give him time off, to rest on the shores of holiness?
How do we protect even HIM in this age of non-stop work and non-stop communication?
—
Work, work, work. Nobody works like Jesus. Is this a good thing?
We think of Jesus being with us 24/7, 365 days a year. He never closes. Like Waffle House. And, honestly, we kinda act like WE’RE the manager at the Holy House of Waffle and Jesus is OUR employee.
Think about it. We get mad at him if he shows up late… get grumpy if he leaves early. We’re always bossing him around, politely of course – passive-agressively telling him where to be – maybe outright aggressively – and telling him how to treat his customers, i.e., us. He’s a good worker. Nobody works like him.
But we also know – after all his time as our server, he’s got to have built up some serious PTO. But oops, we’re shorthanded, here at “The House.” Especially when the FIFA fans show up. Sorry, Jesus, but we need you here.
Today’s scripture is about one day, one long day. And the day starts in the previous chapter of Matthew, Chapter 12. It starts with the managers, the religious muckety-mucks, getting all over Jesus’s case. Ready to put him on a Personal Improvement Plan. They love The Manual. They can cite chapter and verse.
“Look here, “Hello, My Name Is Jesus.” You’re violating some very important paragraphs. We call them, “Commandments.””
It’s actually, 1-2-3-4, the Fourth Commandment. Exodus 20, verse 8: “You shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”
Chapter 35, verse 2 of Exodus is the ipso to that facto, saying, “Whoever does any work on the Sabbath is (quote) to be put to death.”
Management has caught Jesus red-handed on Sabbath Day security video. Item 1: He and his boys walking through a field and plucking cereal grain because they’re… hungry. That’s work! Guilty! Item 2: Here’s Jesus healing a man with a withered hand. More work! Guilty! Guilty! And Item 3: Here he is casting out a demon. Even more work! All on The Sabbath!
Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
Now, lest we start criticizing the Pharisees, let us examine the evidence of our own surveillance cameras.
We Christians of the New Testament are just as slavedriving, just in the opposite way. Back then, the leaders wouldn’t let Jesus lift a finger, under penalty of death. We – in our demanding management technique – we won’t even give Jesus a coffee break. Needing him by our side every minute of every day. And if he’s not? Well, history has already proven we’re not above giving him a death sentence. Done it before. We’ll do it again.
So – What’s a Savior to do?
Well, in the Gospel According to Matthew, we literally turn the page. Chapter 12 ends.
We pick up today’s reading. Chapter 13 starts with the very simple statement: “That same day Jesus went out of The House. Doesn’t say Waffle, but the analogy holds. It says, Jesus went out of The House and sat beside the sea.”
Like a greasy line cook sneaking out back for a smoke – it says – 13:1 – Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
Alone. By himself. Away from the five thousand hungry people demanding their loaves and fishes, scattered, smothered, and covered.
Jesus went out of the house. And sat beside the sea.
Sabbath. Sweet Sabbath for Our Lord.
—
I love going down to the beach at sunrise, down toward Ft. Pickens. Early in the day, before it gets hot and crowded, it’s so very, very peaceful. So quiet.
All the fisher-men and fisher-women with their poles in a line. Shell-hunters. Sweet older couples holding hands, strolling in blissful silence. People set up precisely aimed chairs so they can just stare at the Gulf, the gentle waves, the clouds. Seated just at the margins, so every few waves their toes are gently baptized.
It sounds to me like Psalm 65.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
People are so tumult-y.
I work on Sundays. I love what I do, but it’s not exactly Sabbath. Mornings at the beach are my holy time. My worship. My Sabbath. It’s my place to sneak out of The House, shut my brain off, and listen to nothing but the whispering surf, the calling seagulls, and – if I’m very quiet – time to hear God.
If going down to the sea is the one thing I can do as well as Jesus did, then at least I’ve got that going for me. I think the shore was a holy place and time for him, too. His sanctuary. His Sabbath.
Like Son, like Father. God created the world and all that’s in it in six days, and then on the Seventh, God rested. Because God knew working 24/7 isn’t healthy for anybody. Even for the Almighty himself.
Keeping the Sabbath is one of the Top Ten Commandments for a reason. It’s good for us. Spiritually, physically, mentally. And although we’re not going to get the death penalty if we don’t keep Sabbath, demanding constant productivity with maximum efficiency in minimum time isn’t going to prolong our lives.
Sabbath keeps us alive.
—
I saw a great quote the other day. It goes,
"I told God I'm overwhelmed. He said, then stop trying to do my job."
One of the ways we preserve our Sabbath time is by respecting the division of labor God has set up.
We might feel like we’re carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, we might take pride in carrying the weight of the world on our backs. “Behold my awesome strength!” But astronomically, the world has no weight. It’s just floating in space, zero gravity.
We impose gravity on our lives. We take on so much responsibility. So many yokes on our shoulders. It’s work. Unending work.
Of course, we have to bear our responsibilities. We have to care for our families, and pay the mortgage, and not forget the kids at swim practice again. We have to plan for the future.
But there’s a difference in planning for the future, and being its manager. God says, “Hey, y’all. Stop trying to do my job.”
Jesus went out of the house. And he sat beside the sea. The crowd finds him and drags him back to his job, which is, in their estimation, serving them. But he keeps a distance. He gets in a boat.
Think about what that does. Jesus went down to sit and stare at the ocean. Now, he’s positioned the entire crowd to be doing what he was doing. Staring out at the ocean, listening, peacefully, LISTENING for God’s word.
And what’s the first word he says to them? He says, “Listen!”
Listen!
Listen to him? Listen to the waves? Listen to the seagulls?
Maybe all of the above?
We don’t know. It’s just, “Listen!”
And then, see how artfully he does this? On this Sabbath, he tells them a story of a sower going out to sow. The seeds land on different soils. Some grow, some don’t. But at that point, the seeds are out of the sower’s hands. Now, God takes over, doing the work of the earth, and the seeds, and the weeds, and the rocks. It’s no longer the sower’s job.
Do you see how God uses the division of labor?
Anxiety is worrying about the future. We can plan for the future. But we get anxious, we can get sick, we can worry ourselves to death – to death – when we exceed our job description. When we have no Sabbath.
I can’t say for sure, but I think Jesus is saying, “Listen!” He’s asking, “What do you hear?” He’s saying, “I’ll do my job. You do yours. Don’t ask me to do your job for you.”
Sometimes we need to let Jesus have his time. And we do that by letting ourselves listen. Listen to the earth. Listen for God’s voice. A voice that – as the psalm says – echoes off the rocks, and trees, and skies, and seas – that comes from quiet walks, holding hands with a love, building sandcastles, breathing out. Breathing out. Breathing out.
—
So, back to the original question. How’s your Sabbath going? Maybe it’s on Sundays, here at church. Maybe it’s at a group gathering. Maybe it lasts 24 hours. Or one hour. Or the length of a song when you’re parked in the driveway.
I have this vision of Jesus appearing beside us during those times. Asking, “Isn’t this great?” I don’t know if he needs it as much as we do. Sure seems like he used to.
If keeping a little Sabbath is something you can do almost as well as Jesus, well, you’ve got that going for you.
Listen for the sounds of Sabbath.
Enjoy it.
Do a good job.
[eos]
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