One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" And he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath." Mark 2:23–28 (RSV)
We haven't kept the Sabbath for centuries. We have not observed the third commandment since the Resurrection. Of course, who has lain awake at night deeply concerned that we have been lax in our Sabbath-keeping?
We have reached the opposite pole from the Pharisees. Where they were fanatical about the Sabbath, our generation hardly notices it at all. The Sabbath was a rigid law for the Pharisee. It is one option on how we use the day.
Neither is the proper use of the day. Keeping the Sabbath fails if it is enforced piety or if it is a pleasant tradition we may observe if we choose. The gift of the Sabbath is the Word. We are given a day set aside for the Word and our hearing of it.
It is the day that the Father has promised us that we will meet the Word, the Living Word, in prayers, hymns, sermons, chants, confessions, and sacraments. It is the day that the Lord has promised to be present to be heard, touched, tasted, and save.
The Sabbath, the day of the Resurrection, is the Father's gift to us, His redeemed children, so we may be covered in His love. He is the Lord of the Sabbath.