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“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28, LSB

Our Lord calls us to Himself with the promise of the Sabbath. In our Lord, the command becomes a promise. We are not to take a sabbath out of obligation and forced devotion, but are given the sabbath as a gift. In this gift comes the promise of renewal and a removal of the heavy burdens that weigh us down. The call of our Lord is not for us to offer up sacrifices to appease, but the sacrifice of letting go of our concerns and giving over our worries to our Lord, who sacrificed Himself for us. Our Lord desires us to know His comfort and peace, not through the addition of requirements piled on us to make us feel obligated to do more for Him, but to know the comfort that comes with the realization that all the work has been done for us on the Cross. His death and resurrection resolved all the issues of our sin, and the shame that accompanies our shortcomings is removed. He has done it all so we may be led into His Kingdom and eternally know His peace.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.