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A Sabbath Day's Journey

By: Rev. Paul Landgraf
What is a Sabbath day's journey? First of all, it is a Jewish expression. We measure distances in meters or yards. The Jews had a certain distance that they could walk on Saturday before it would be considered work. So their synagogues that they went to on Saturday could not be very far away. The word appears only in Acts 1:12 and indicates a distance of about three-quarters of a mile.

With that in mind, I think it is important to remember the origins of Christianity. Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'. Much of the Old Testament has a literary structure that we are not aware of because of our modern emphasis on chapter and verse divisions. Within many of these blogs, I try to get the reader to see a bigger picture, a larger perspective that often includes the Old Testament and the environment that was present when the New Testament was seeing the Light of the day.

Second, a Sabbath day's journey is intentionally short. These 'journeys' with a text, almost always one of the three readings for that Sunday, are deliberately brief discussions. This blog was never designed to be a comprehensive look at any text. Sometimes a specific word is studied in detail. But, as a whole, a blog entry, by itself, is meant to be quite brief.

Finally, since the term 'Sabbath day's journey' appears in Acts, it is meant to appeal to a wide variety of people. This blog is meant for those who cannot come on Sunday mornings. And it is also for those who do come on Sunday mornings but would also like a further study of the text. It is also for those who live somewhere else in the world (besides Drake and Freedom, Missouri, USA) and would simply like a further study of the text. It was meant to get these different groups of people to start thinking about the biblical texts. Part of the reason for this blog is that I am not able to have a bible class on Sunday mornings with either congregation, and so, to have a blog like this seemed like a good idea. I hope it is helpful for you, in whatever situation you may be.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And thank you for taking the time to read this!

November 04th, 2017

11/4/2017

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​I remember reading about the high level of interest in the Sermon on the Mount. And the Beatitudes at the start of that sermon are also quite well known.

Each of the beatitudes start with a blessing. And that is probably the most fascinating aspect of it all. 

In the beatitudes there are certain groups of people who are picked out by the Lord. Then he redefines them ('theirs is the kingdom of heaven'). Or he predicts that something will happen to them ('they shall inherit the earth').

That all comes from the word 'blessing'. The verb 'to bless' is connected to power. And you see that in the creation account.

God creates a group, and then he blesses that group and says, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.' Then that group receives the power to fill the earth and multiply.

But that is not the end of the story. The creation account moves to an even higher point on the seventh day. God ends up blessing that day. 

How can someone bless a day? Does it glow on the calendar? Do you automatically feel special on that day? Obviously not.

The progression within the beatitudes also moves to a higher point near the end. The final two (if you count the last 'blessed' that is directly spoken to those who are listening: 'Blessed are YOU....'), these beatitudes are for those who are persecuted. The contrast within the very last one is stirring: When people insult you, persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you, what are you to do? Rejoice and be glad.

That's what the bible says. More exactly, that is what Jesus says.

He is the true source of the blessing. The tough thing is to stay with him all the way through. There is a lot of power being pushed around. Sometimes some of that is even being done by Jesus. There is a certain amount of blessing that comes with power, but it does not last. 

Jesus on the cross is not a picture of power. That is a picture of love. That is a true picture of blessing. He did not glow; he probably did not feel very special. But that is true blessing being given out. Because he says so.
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