“Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.” (Exodus 20:8-11)  Our Old Testament lesson for this week is a “biggie.”  The giving of the Law in the 10 Commandments is one of the crucial turning points in God’s saving history.  Here God gives to Israel and to us (the Church) who believe that we have been grafted into the Covenant people through Christ’s agency (Romans 11).  There is of course, way too much here, for such a small meditation, so I want to focus on the 4th Commandment: the keeping of Sabbath.  Perhaps you are like me and you can remember stories from your parents or grandparents about Sunday legalism.  “You can’t do that, it’s Sunday!”  On the other hand, our present culture no longer views the need for a weekly Sabbath.  The main point that comes to me this week is the relationship between Sabbath-keeping and Lent.  To the best of my understanding, the 4th commandment is the opportunity for us to interrupt our normal activity.  Sabbath is the gracious reminder to us that ultimately we do not have the capacity to sustain ourselves: that ultimately on a weekly basis, we have the reminder that we cannot save ourselves.  Lent may be seen as the annual equivalent.  For 40 days each year (around a tithe of the 365 days), you and I are invited to remember our deep need for grace, and to be more explicit, our deep need for Jesus.  So how are you doing?  Has this Lenten season reminded you that “business as usual” simply will not meet the truth of who you really are?  Do you need to pause to recall the truth?  Do you need to stop in order to allow the Lord who has the power to save, to do his work?  Have a great week!