Not Just the Time of the Other—What Does It Mean for Christians Today to Remember Shabbat and Keep It Holy?

• Published in: Religions (Basel, Switzerland ) Switzerland ), 2022-08, Vol.13 (8), p.736
• Main Author: Meyer, Barbara U
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abraham Joshua Heschel; Christian-Jewish relations; Christianity; Christianity and other religions; Christians; Jewish Sabbath; Jewish-Christian relations; Judaism; Karl Barth; New Testament; post-supersessionism; Sabbath; Sabbath (Jewish law); Sabbath observance; Social aspects; Theology
• ISSN: 2077-1444; 2077-1444
• DOI: 10.3390/rel13080736

In this essay, I explore how Christians can relate to the Sabbath in a way that adequately expresses Christian traditions about sacred time while showing respect for distinctly Jewish practices. My basic claim is that a Christian sanctification of the Sabbath presents an entirely new challenge for a Christianity that does not view Judaism as superseded or outdated. Thus, I ask: What should be the meaning of the Sabbath commandment for Christians? How can Christians sanctify the Sabbath while affirming it as a sign of the Jewish people’s living covenant? First, I will lay out the questions that are raised for Christian theology when affirming Jewish Sabbath observance as part of practiced Judaism, that is, as lived Torah and as a tradition passed on from generation to generation. Next, I will consult contemporary Jewish literature on the topic, then look for Christian accounts of the Sabbath in Christian systematic theologies. I will ask: What happens when Christians affirm that Sunday does not abrogate the Jewish Sabbath, while also asserting their own commitment to the Bible’s holy day? I will subsequently sketch an outline of a Christian theology of Shabbat that acknowledges distinctive Jewish legal traditions as well as its own connectedness to Biblical temporal structures.