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Two Kinds of Sabbath
By Rev (Dr) Timothy Tow
(Preached at Life BP Church, 10.30 am service, Feb 2 2003)
Text: Exodus 20:8-11
Today is the second day of Chinese New Year. Last Friday night was the big
family reunion even under your grandparents when you ate a big dinner.
You paid respects to your seniors (I’m speaking to the younger
generation) and you received your hong baos, money in red
packets. The official Chinese New Year ends after tomorrow.
Do you
know the short 3-day interval is the only time of vacation according to
our ancient Chinese culture? With the coming of modern times certain
kinds of labourers take off for a week and with construction workers
Chinese New Year vacation runs on for two weeks to the fifteenth moon.
What
is the New Year greeting? It is Gong Xi Fa Cai, Prosperity in the
New Year. Inasmuch as there is no rest throughout the year except for
the very short duration of three days to half a month, there is no hope
for life except for money. Money, money, money is that which brings you
pleasure for your short life and when death comes, that’s the end. No
hope beyond the grave.
A
Chinese life is also governed by the horoscope. There are 12 animals
such as the horse for the year now past. The newspaper says there were
5,000 births in
Beijing,
1,000 more than the previous year which registered 4,000 because to be
born in the Horse Year children would be more vigorous and enterprising.
This New Year is the Goat Year so births are timed to the Horse Year for
the horse is more powerful than the goat. The Chinese have no future
after death, and in this short, restless life they must avoid every bad
luck. Hence the superstitious picking of auspicious days for weddings,
starting a business or going on travel. And for sabbath rest, the
present short Chinese New Year only.
The
other kind of Sabbath was given in the time of Moses 3,500 years ago to
the Hebrews. And what a contrast to the Chinese New Year! It was a
weekly recurrence. It extends to every member of the family, including
servants and domestic animals, even strangers living with the family,
foreigners enjoying the same weekly sabbath.
Do you
know how the whole world today is blessed by the weekly sabbath of the
Jews, through Christianity? The Sunday rest which now comes also to
Chinese labourers who lived, e.g. when they were governed by the Manchus?
When
Christianity spread to the Roman
Empire and to Britain, the Law of the Sabbath came to their land through
worship on the Lord’s Day and has been known as the Christian Sabbath.
This is the other kind of Sabbath I am talking about.
While
the Chinese New Year sabbath gives the Chinese people little hope beyond
the grave, our weekly Christian Sabbath gives us everlasting hope of
living with God, even with a resurrected body. We look forward to coming
to Church to worship with joy the Almighty Father through our risen
Saviour Jesus Christ. The Sabbath given us is for this highest purpose.
It is grave disobedience to God not coming to Church on the Lord’s Day
but to go swimming or picnic by the seaside. Heb 10:25
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of
some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the
day approaching."
Shorter Catechism Q60, "How is the Sabbath to be sanctified? The Sabbath
is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such
worldly employment and recreation as are lawful on other days, and
spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God’s
worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity
and mercy." I would like to comment on "spending the whole time in the
public…exercises of God’s worship."
I have
known a Church in London
to hold two services on the Lord’s Day while being barely able to
provide the main Morning Service. For they have not a resident pastor.
If
being active to serve the Lord is felt by such a Church to be necessary
I would recommend what was started by Dr John Sung.
Dr
John Sung brought a great revival to
Singapore in the nineteen thirties. Over 1,500 were thoroughly
converted. He mobilised from his new converts over 100 preaching bands
and saw them out to evangelise the non-Christians every Sunday
afternoon. This was his genius. I would do the same for that
hard-pressed London
Church without a pastor.
And
now to Life
Church with wonderful results. Lay people offering their spare time on
Sunday afternoon, after attending the morning service, advance to Johor
Bahru and Kota Tinggi to teach Sunday School. As for Kota Tinggi more
than 20 souls have been saved in 3 months. The whole Lord’s Day is spent
much more profitably than trying to maintain the traditional two
services with much sweat and tears.
The
Chinese New Year’s short break of at most two weeks give no genuine
sabbath rest. Our weekly Christian Sabbath gives us weekly rest, vibrant
service, and everlasting hope. What a contrast!
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