Sabbath as Joyful Resistance (August 24, 2025)
Sermon: "Sabbath as Joyful Resistance"
Scriptures: Isaiah 58:9b–14, Luke 13:10–17
Location: Christ Church of Chicago
Date: August 24, 2025
Greeting and Opening Acknowledgments
「平安！」Be the peace with you. Good morning, Christ Church of Chicago, Tri-C.
Before we begin today’s reflection, I bring you two messages of deep gratitude and encouragement from partners in faith who have been walking this journey with you.
First, on behalf of the Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries (PAAM) of the United Church of Christ, and especially from our Executive Committee and Moderator, Eppie Encabo, I want to say: Greetings on behalf of PAAMILY. Grateful for your faithfulness and commitment to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May God’s abundant Blessings and Joy be with your ministry. We look forward to deepening our connection, lifting each other up across regions, and continuing this shared movement of faith, rooted in our cultural strength and shared calling.
Second, I greet you on behalf of the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches. As a member of this coalition, I want to express heartfelt appreciation for your generous financial support and continued engagement. Tri-C commitment to inclusive ministry, especially toward the LGBTQ+ community and those on the margins, is a vital and visible testimony in this city. You are not alone. You are part of a wider body proclaiming healing, dignity, and hospitality in the name of Christ.
Now, with that shared spirit of gratitude and purpose, let us turn to the scriptures today.
Today, we explore a theme that’s both deeply ancient and urgently modern: the Sabbath.
But I want us to think of Sabbath not simply as a day off, or a list of religious dos and don’ts.
Sabbath is far more powerful. It’s a gift of joy, and it’s also a form of resistance, a way to stand against systems that devalue human lives.
In our current moment, where people are overworked, underpaid, and increasingly divided—Sabbath is a holy invitation to rest, to heal, and to rebuild.
Isaiah 58: Rebuilding from the Ruins
The passage we read today from Isaiah 58 comes from a section of the book often called Third Isaiah—likely written after the Israelites had returned from exile in Babylon. The Northern Kingdom (Israel) had already fallen to Assyria in 722 BCE, and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) had been conquered by Babylon around 586 BCE. The people were taken into exile, their temple destroyed, their society shattered.
When they returned decades later, they expected a glorious restoration. But what they found instead was hardship, division, and disappointment. The walls of Jerusalem were still in ruins, the economy was broken, and the social fabric was frayed.
And in this moment of national grief and spiritual confusion, God speaks through the prophet:
“If you remove the yoke from among you… If you offer your food to the hungry… Then your light shall rise in the darkness.”
God is saying: Your religious rituals are not enough. If your worship isn’t leading to justice, then it’s not truly worship.
The phrase in verse 12—“You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in"—isn’t just poetic. It’s literal.
They had actual breaches in the city walls. They had literal streets that needed rebuilding. But more than that, they had spiritual breaches between rich and poor, oppressor and oppressed, insider and outsider.
So Isaiah’s message is profoundly theological: The restoration of God’s people is tied not to temple rituals, but to ethical action. To keep Sabbath in this context means participating in God’s rebuilding work—healing what is broken, both spiritually and socially.
This echoes what theologian Walter Brueggemann calls the "prophetic imagination"—the capacity to envision and enact alternatives to systems of exploitation. Sabbath becomes not just a time of rest, but a defiant act of hope in the face of despair.
And when Isaiah says:
“If you call the Sabbath a delight…"
He reminds us that Sabbath is not a burden, but a gift. A way to live in rhythm with God, not with empire.
Luke 13: Healing on the Sabbath: Liberation Over Legalism
In Luke 13:10–17, Jesus is teaching in the synagogue when he sees a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years. He calls her forward, lays hands on her, and she is healed—she stands tall for the first time in almost two decades and begins to praise God.
But the synagogue leader is outraged. Not because she was healed, but because it happened on the Sabbath.
In Second Temple Judaism, Sabbath observance had become central to Jewish identity. It was a boundary marker—a way to maintain faith and dignity under Roman oppression. The leaders wanted to preserve holiness, but had turned Sabbath into a fence instead of a fountain.
Jesus rebukes them:
“Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie [their] ox or donkey and lead it to water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be set free on the Sabbath?”
Jesus isn’t abolishing the Sabbath. He’s reclaiming it.
In Deuteronomy 5, the Sabbath command is rooted in freedom:
“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out… therefore the Lord commanded you to keep the Sabbath.”
Sabbath is meant to be a sign of liberation. It’s a refusal to allow anyone to be reduced to labor, to suffering, or to invisibility.
And when Jesus calls her a "daughter of Abraham"—the only place in the Gospels where this term is used for a woman—he declares her fully included in the covenant community.
This woman becomes a symbol of all who have been bent over by oppression, illness, or exclusion—and Jesus, through Sabbath, lifts them up.
Sabbath as Joyful Resistance
So what does this mean for us, here and now, in 2025, in Chicago?
It means Sabbath is not just a day off. It is a spiritual act of resistance. A holy no to the systems that grind us down. A joyful yes to God's rhythm of grace.
In a society where federal support is being pulled from the poor, where LGBTQ+ siblings face political and spiritual targeting, where people of color and immigrants are treated cruelly, where the National Guard might take over and bring fear to, where burnout and loneliness are epidemic; Sabbath invites us to say:
Not in our name. Not in God’s name. Not in this place.
From what I have learned and told; this church is already living it.
The Work You’ve Done: A Living Sabbath
This summer, Tri-C gathered many times for the Music in the Garden. We rested, but we also gave. I have learned that the donation last week goes to a local organization to support our trans siblings, and other go to different communities. These events and funds collected not only for ourselves, but also for those who are in need - a tangible act of Sabbath justice.
Next month, you’ll open your space again for a Community Market—making room for local voices, shared goods, and mutual care. These are not small actions. These are repairing the breach.
A Challenge to This Congregation
The call of Isaiah and the example of Jesus both bring us to a crucial question: How will we live out Sabbath today—not just for ourselves, but for our neighbors?
This is a challenge to deepen the work we have already begun. It is a call to:
· Ask who among us still needs to be seen, healed, and restored.
· Continue resisting all forms of injustice that deny people rest, dignity, or belonging.
Our identity as a church of Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries and Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches is not something to overcome—it is part of your prophetic strength. Our diverse roots teach resilience. Our creative worship reflects joy. Our presence in this city is a sacred testimony.
So, let us all try to take this challenge not as a burden, but as an invitation. Lean into our calling. Let our Sabbath practices ripple outward into our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our civic engagement deeply.
Let us not just observe Sabbath. We are embodying it.
Closing: Rest that Heals the City
So let me be clear:
Your efforts are not in vain.
Every dollar raised, every chair set up, every voice lifted in song, every invitation to a neighbor—it all matters.
At the General Synod in Kansas City this year, our General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson, gave us a challenge in her State of the Church address:
She called on all UCC congregations to be in the community, to witness in the community, and to show Christ’s love in the community.
And this is exactly what you're doing.
As Jesus said:
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love and cared for one another." (John 13:35)
Amen.
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Sermon can be found on Christ Church of Chicago's Facebook page (24:00).
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