Third Commandment
What is the third commandment?
Remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
In our study of the first commandment we were taught the command, “You shall have no other gods.” We also learned that in Christ we have a God who has elected to be our God and make us his people. In the second commandment we were taught the command, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” and likewise learned that in Christ we have been given the triune name of God in our baptisms for our use in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. In the third commandment, “Remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy” we follow this same pattern and learn two things, a command, and, in Christ, a promise.
Where many before and after Luther taught this commandment by focusing on particular days, observances, and act (working), Luther focuses narrowly in his catechetical explanation on hearing the Word of God (resting). In his Large Catechism, Luther notes that the most literal translation of this commandment would be to, “sanctify the holy day”, which begs the question, “How is something sanctified?” With a keen eye on the Old Testament, Luther confesses that God alone is holy and that he communicates his holiness relationally via his Word. Holiness is given and received as a gift by communication and therefore communion with God. And because holiness is a matter of the gospel, it is gratis, “grace upon grace.” It is not something that can be measured, quantified, or possessed, much like the love of a spouse. Love is not something one can measure or own or possess, rather it is something that one always receives anew every day in relation to the beloved.
This stands in sharp contrast to the Papal and Monastic conception of holiness which made holiness a wage for works, something merited or earned from holy orders, holy relics, and holy observances, all of which lacked the institution, command, and promise of God. Luther condemns all of these papal inventions and monastic machinations and instead claims that even if one were to put all the relics (Heiligtümer) in the world in one great pile, they still wouldn’t surpass the true relic (Heiligtum) which is the Word of God. No amount of pilgrimages, alms, relics, works, or masses invented by man can add to our holiness or blessedness before God. The “one thing needful”, the “good portion”, is to be hearers and receivers of God’s work and God’s word.
Unfortunately, in Luther’s day the true means of receiving the holiness and grace of God had been horribly obscured and deformed. The holy sacraments were either kept from the laity or mutilated into works. In the Holy Eucharist, the cup was withheld from the people and the words of institution were spoken secretly by the priest so that the laity never heard them. The benefits of Baptism were completely covered up and it was said that Baptism only cleansed us of original sin, but not actual sins. Holy Absolution was diminished by works of satisfaction which supposedly served to pay part of the debt of sin. And furthermore, the Sermon no longer presented Christ and his work, but focused on good works for meriting salvation. What Luther helped to recover for the Christian church, then, is both true sanctification and the true sacraments.
In returning to the New Testament and the mandating words of Jesus, Luther recovered the sacraments as gifts freely given. The “Eucharist” or “Mass” is properly the “Holy Supper of Our Lord.” It is Christ’s gift to us, not our work for him. He is the host, the butler, and the main course and we are his dinner guests. Holy Baptism is not merely a washing of original sin, but a mighty flood that cleanses us from all sin and a fountain of grace to which we can return in every temptation, trial, and sin. Holy Absolution does not come with terms or conditions based on the breadth of our confession, the depth of our contrition, or the height of our works. It is the free declaration that on account of Christ you are entirely forgiven. Likewise, the chief purpose of the sermon is not to present works, the law, or teaching, but to present and deliver Christ. These great gifts are the form and content of “sanctification” or the “sanctified life”. It does not consist in doing much, but in much being done for you. It is not about the works of our hands, but about faith in the heart.
Because it is God’s Holy Word and Holy Sacraments that make the day and the people holy, this commandment is fulfilled whenever and wherever those things are, whether on Saturday or Sunday, morning or evening, in church or at home. In the Christian church we have historically observed Sunday as our chief holy day because it is the day upon which Christ our Lord was raised from the dead. The church likewise observes various other days like Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and other such holy days throughout the week in order to further sanctify time and space for the words and work of her Lord. Regular midweek services, especially on Wednesday and Friday as penitential days throughout the year have also been commonly observed. Likewise, specific times for worship or prayer such as 6 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm are commonly observed as the hours of Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and death. These things along with the entire church calendar are all matters of tradition and thus are not a mandate of the Lord. They are, nevertheless, beneficial practices.
However odd it may seem to have a command to “do nothing,” it is a necessary command. We need to be told to do nothing, because we are constantly doing something. But doing and listening are mutually exclusive. When you’re working, you’re not listening. And when you’re listening, you’re not working. This posture of silent listening and receiving is one of the most uncomfortable postures for sinful creatures, however. Sinners know that if they stop speaking and working then they stop being able to justify themselves before others and God. Silence is thus the most vulnerable and dangerous space a sinner can inhabit. Though a dangerous place to be, it is the most blessed place to be. Wherever the word is heard, there all the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation are freely given and received. Wherever the word is, there Christ is too.
Prayer: We thank you, kind Father, that you give us time to hear your Holy Word. Grant that fearing and loving you, we may set aside our work to receive your Son’s words, which are spirit and life, and so, refreshed and renewed by the preaching of your Gospel, we might live in the peace and quietness that come through faith alone; we ask it for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
-Rev. Philip D. Bartelt
