THE SABBATH AND GENEROSITY  

MEDITATION

We all have a yearning for holiness and wholeness. We desire a life full of goodness and long for an "intact" society, for an ideal world. The Sabbath commandments include more than just the instruction to have one day-off each week. With the call to celebrate the year of Jubilee, God gives His chosen people a foretaste of what eternal holiness will be like – a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath. 

The book of Moses and the new Testament talk about the Sabbath and the year of Jubilee as a way to maintain generosity, justice, and restoration among the people of God. Each tribal family was dependent on owning a sufficient area of land to provide for every member of the community. 

On the one hand, the Sabbath commandments support us as individuals. They help us to find rest from work and to find time to worship God, while at the same time our work provides for our daily needs. But even more than helping us as individuals, the Sabbath commandments focus on living as a community. The commandments show us what God is like and how we as humans – and especially as Christians – are created to live in community. Our shared lives should be characterised by generosity as a symbol for God’s grace, which we ourselves have experienced. Our lives should be characterised by justice, which we make available for others because God is a God of justice. Our lives should also be characterised by restoration, by helping people around us to take their place in society with dignity. Nowadays it does not necessarily mean that we have to own a plot of land. Instead, we can commit ourselves to supporting others to get a job, have a good living space and a healthy social life. 

In a globalised world, our neighbours also include people living around the world. We are obliged to consider the ecological consequences of our lifestyle. When we treat natural resources and the climate with respect and care, we will enable life and Sabbath in Africa, Asia, and the rest of the world. Generosity knows no geographical boundaries.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION  

• Have I personally experienced generosity, justice, or restoration through other people?  
• What do we learn about God when people are generous, fight injustice, and help restore other people’s dignity?  
• How can I experience the Sabbath commandments –apart from resting– as an opportunity for social justice?   
• In what aspect of my life can I practice generosity in new ways? 

PRAYER TOPICS  

• We pray for people who experience great injustice.  
• We pray for those on the fringes of society who desire a life with dignity.  
• We pray that the church will reflect God’s generosity and justice.  
• Lord, show me how I can share Your justice and generosity in my daily life.

SUGGESTED PRAYER 

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your immeasurable generosity for us. It culminates in Your giving Your Son to die for us. Not only has He shown us Your grace and justice through His life on earth, but He has made it possible for us to receive Your grace and justice by dying on the cross and by His resurrection on Easter. 

Grant us wisdom and power through the Holy Spirit to live a life of generosity and justice. And help us to care for Your creation because we are made in Your image. Give us eyes to see those who need restoration so that we can be channels of Your love today. Amen.

Marc Jost, General Secretary of the Swiss Evangelical Alliance (German-speaking part), Switzerland.