Sabbath

The Hope of Sabbath Rest

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And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on. Luke 23:54 KJV

Though few of us who call ourselves Christians keep a strict Sabbath these days, we probably still think of Sunday morning as the beginning of a special day set aside for heading to church. What we forget is that in the Bibe, the drawing near of Sabbath, did not mean that it was almost dawn, but that it would soon be night. In today’s passage, as Joseph and Nicodemus carried the lifeless body of Jesus they hurried, because by law they must be done before sunset when Sabbath began. Yet the darkness at the beginning of Sabbath, was not intended by God to be a curse, but rather a sign of hope. Because as sunset drew near, it signaled the beginning of rest after the hard labor of the week. Then all twenty-four of the hours ahead belonged to God for a Sabbath rest as God’s special day and a time to be enjoyed.

In the same way, for those of us who are older, as our lives are beginning their final chapters, we need not fear the closing in of shadows and the darkening of horizons. These are all signs that the chapter that lies ahead completely belongs to God. Just as Jesus lay in the tomb on the day of rest in hope of the resurrection, we also share that same hope. There is no defeat in that darkness but rather a joyful quiet hope that believes that we will rest in our Father’s arms and rise again to walk with our Lord on the first day of a new and eternal week!

“Above all things and in all things, O my soul, rest always in God, for He is the everlasting rest of the saints.    Grant, most sweet and loving Jesus, that I may seek my repose in You…   For my heart cannot rest or be fully content until, rising above all gifts and every created thing, it rests in You. Thomas à Kempis

After the Sabbath Passed

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Mother duck slept in one day
Still and quiet without sound
Trusting God to guard her ducklings
Bedded down beside the pond

The early mists swirled on the lake
Wisps stirred up by sun’s first ray
And birds begin to seek again
Their provision for the day

Now my heart waits on my Lord
Who bedded down behind the stone
Till after Sabbath passed at dawn
He rose to fly Father’s throne


Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2026
All rights reserved


Keeping Sabbath

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Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. Exodus 31:16 ESV

“Keep / Shamar - To hedge about (as with thorns) to guard; gen. to protect...”  Strong's Hebrew/Aramaic Dictionary

Even after Sixty-five years, I can still clearly remember my grandmother’s small front yard, because of the barberry bushes around the edges of that bit of grass. How I not only hated those tiny shrubs, but I can still feel their teeth! Whenever I would brush my leg too closely or ran my hands ever so gently over their tops, small, almost invisible thorns reached out and quickly grabbed hold. Rarely could the barb be found and usually a few days passed before my skin would push out the unwanted invader. My grandmother planted those tiny guardians of the front yard to keep her grass area from becoming a shortcut for any of us as we headed around her corner on the way to the elementary school down the street. My grandmother was a wise person, knowing that neither signs, nor verbal warnings could do any better than her guard of thorns.

Our God in His wisdom has created one day out of seven to be a garden of rest for us. Before He gave His law; in fact, even before there was sin – there was Sabbath. Sabbath is His gift, and He has woven it into the DNA of our bodies, minds, and spirits. Keeping Sabbath is not about rules or yelling at the neighbors to turn down their hip-hop music. Keeping Sabbath is about planting an internal hedge to slow down the stampede of life that constantly threatens to stomp on the garden. Keeping Sabbath is about joining God as He rests, trusting and knowing that while there is always something to be done; God delights in the time that we rest in Him because He wants to give us His wonderful rest for our soul.

Not a Very Good Waiter - Verse Three*

Then He waited and prayed in the garden
For all who one day would come
To the cross where He died at the top of the Hill
To find rest with their burdens undone

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 ESV

Not a Very Good waiter by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright 2024 - all rights reserved.
* see entire poem at bottom of post
Not a Very Good Waiter

I’m not a very good waiter
Doing nothing seems simply a waste
But our Father just loves to walk slowly
Doing nothing in hurry or haste

By a well He waited at noonday
For the woman who thirsted for more
And He calls us to come when we’re weary and worn
For refreshing that He has in store

Then He waited and prayed in the garden
For all who one day would come
To the cross where He died at the top of the Hill
To find rest with their burdens undone

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 ESV