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Bible Time Period: Egypt and Exodus
You freed your people from slavery in Egypt so they could worship you: Free me from sin so I can serve and worship.
Reflection
In today’s chapters, we move to details of priestly consecration and the altar of incense. Israel is being given instructions for worshiping God. How ironic that chapter 32 follows right on these instructions: the people fall into idolatry right away with the golden calf.
Today’s Reading
Today’s Question
How important is the Sabbath observance, according to chapter 31, and why?
Join the discussion below!
I just love Sundays. I’m so thankful that we’ve been given a day of rest, who or what kind of people dont want to rest!? In a culture of on the go and being obsessed with efficiency I find Sundays to be very freeing
This fit with the reading today. The Sabbath is intended for us to rest in the Lord. How do we live that is by putting aside our daily work and give ourselves to the Lord in worship and to our family. It is not a day for entertainment but for fellowship with God and family. God specifically says we should not work. The Babylonian Exile was because the Israelites were not keeping the Sabbath. It was not a suggestion but a command. Unfortunately our society does not live the Sabbath. It is a me world that thrives on entertainment of self.
The Sabbath as proclaimed by God, reminded his people the creation of our beautiful earth took six days, and when it was complete God rested on the 7th. When I was a child with my parents alive, Sunday was our day when my Dad didn’t work in the fields toiling the earth, my Mom didn’t do housework or wash the clothes of her family. After church we would go on picnics in a park or in the mountains of Colorado, with my Mom’s delicious fried chicken and potato salad. Later as their children grew older and living on their own we still got together on Sunday’s for Mom’s home cooked meals, and would spend the entire day together, Sometimes we played Croquet or Badminton in the yard, until TV came along. Now that our parents are gone, the adult children still try to get together on Sundays. It will always be our day, thanking God for our loving closeness. I think this was God’s intention, to remind us of the LOVE, we have for family and friends, and to stop and be thankful for all of our blessings. This is what our parents taught us too.
The Sabbath was so important that non-observance meant you were cut off from the community, It meant death. It means the same today. Besides receiving Jesus in the Euchrist, Sunday mass gives us the opportunity to connect with our parish family.
Those who become so involved in work that they fail to rest damage their bodies and shorten their lives, so one might say failing to rest on the Sabbath. results in death.
Last week we attended Saturday Mass. I noticed that I felt really relaxed all Sunday. I do now try to prepare food ahead of time. So all I have to do is warm the lunch and dinner up. (Thank you Lord for microwave ovens 🙂
I also have special clothing that I wear only on Sunday.my newest casual clothing that I do not want to stain. That disuades me from doing messy work like cleaning the bathroom. I also liked attending Saturday Mass because we got first choise at the after Mass bakesale 🙂
I have been reading with interest the comments on Sunday/Sabbath and keeping it holy as God intended. I too felt pressure to get things done and caught up so that I wasn’t feeling so stressed. But of course the stress just increased as I continued to keep up with the “rat race of doing! I think God knew what our lives were going to be like and in his infinite wisdom asked us to rest on Sunday. After many years of feeling pressure of not enough time, I decided to take my Sundays back. I have more energy now that I take this one day of relaxation, and I am amazed how long it took me to discover the wisdom of our God when he asked us to keep holy the Sabbath, and holy is not being on your knees and praying but in fact respecting our Creator’s wisdom in knowing that we truly need one day set aside to rest, be with family, listen to music, read a book , including the Bible that we never have time for on other days. The difference in my outlook and general well being is just such a gift to me from this one day a week that I have chosen to just be!
It is clear in Exodus 31:16-17 God reveals to Moses that the Sabbath is to be observed as “a perpetual covenant”. The Sabbath becomes the day of worship, when God and the people He created in His image rest together in love (Ex 20:8-11). And we have back in Gen 2:1-3 that begins with God instituting the Sabbath, blessing it and making it holy. But it is best summed up in verse 15b: “Anyone who does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death.”
That is so true today. It has been shown that those who work continually have a greater chance of heart attack.
And by your words Science again proves scripture correct 🙂
Great observation! Thanks
I love to worship my Jesus each and every day….and my Christian community gathers on SONdays (to worship the Son of God, Jesus). So, SONdays are a time to gather the church (the body of Christ) to gather and praise together as we begin our week.
I love the twist! Son vs Sun! Thanks gg, It made me smile!
Keeping Holy the Sabbath in the demands of the 21st century. Pope Francis speaks of it extensively. http://www.consolationproject.com/pope-francis-promotes-sabbath-rest-on-sundays/
My typical sunday is a week preparation day and it is full of work. With kids having needs, school, work, etc, it seems so much has to get done. I have tried so hard to remember what is truly important. My daughter and I (she is 4) now attend regularly mass on sunday evenings at 7:00. It is a great time to put away the chaos of the day and prepare for the week ahead. Not perfect but it is what we can do for now.
You could do some prep work on Saturdays as the Isrealities did double the gathering of manna the day before the Sabbath rest…..just a notion, but I recall the Sunday busy-ness from when my kids were little. May God bless your family with stretched time!
Thanks fisher and great idea. Although Saturday tends to have just as few hours. I always have the liturgy of the hours on my phone when I get some time.
When we were raising our kids, I was working full time, going to school, plus keeping house… I would get up every Saturday and clean, laundry, and grocery shop…the deep cleaning waited until I had an extra day off. The kids helped me as I assigned them jobs appropriate to their ages. Also, I had a friend who did one thing every night during the week…one night the laundry; another cleaned the house, etc…that worked for her. For both of us our Sundays were freed up for family time…(though some of it, I had to use to do school work.)
That is a great plan Beverly!!
When our kids were young, we divided up the all of the chores among all the family members. Also, the chores were tied to their allowances. If one of the kids didn’t to a specific chore, one of the other kids could do it and then collect it’s value from them at the weekly family meeting. It worked wonderfully. It wasn’t until the kids were grown and moved out that I realized how much of the work they did !
Roman Catholic understand the importance of keeping Holy the Lord’s day. The commandment was keeping Holy the Sabbath (Saturday), but Christ’s Resurrection has taken the place of our our observance of the Sabbath. We hope it does at the least.
I have always found Aaron’s denial and his story to be one of ridiculousness. “24 ‘Let anyone has gold jewelry take it off’ They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire and this calf came out.”
Threw the gold in and this nicely formed statue just magically popped out the fire with no molding and the like. This is how ridiculous we sound when we lie and do not tell the truth. God Knows All. Do not be a fool and be honest to yourself and others. Lies will only hurt.
An idol does not have to be a statue, but can be anything. No one in our church should be praying to a statue as the Old Testament states the importance of idol worship. These statues are merely images of the saint/Jesus who are in heaven. I know most of us know that here, but sometimes worry about other people. What are you putting in front of God? Basically anything you give more time/devotion/energy/money can be considered an idol. Technology, material things, television, sports, etc etc can be an idol. Reflect on these things and get rid of them if they are an issue.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are the True Source of Happiness and the Father of Life. Help me to trust in You and put nothing else before you. I am a sinner and acknowledge my faults. Jesus gave his life for me and I accept the Blood of the Lamb to wipe away my sins. Give me the Grace to increase my faith, become a better follower of you and know your Truths. I pray this in the powerful name of Jesus.
Question: How do we know what Jewish traditions/rules should we keep versus the others that we do not? Are there health/other important aspects in these traditions/rules?
Great questions, I myself am in process of learning the same. This forum is helping greatly. For example the difference between the “Sabbath” and the “Lord’s Day”. Since Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday, we Christians now practice all the old testament Sabbath requirements on Sundays, The Lord’s Day. http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/did-the-early-church-move-the-sabbath-from-saturday-to-sunday
I think there are many jobs that do require work on Sundays. Health Care, Police, Military, Security, Fire, Ambulance, Jail/Prison work, Ranch work, i.e. Feeding and caring for people and animals that do not have the ability to care for themselves, etc…
The Sabbath day is the day to honor the lord through worship. It’s the covenant in which he asks that we keep sacred in honor of Him. And, just as he was working to inscribe the commandments with Moses, for just that short amount of time (lack of patience), Aaron was being led by sinners quickly seeking other gods to worship.
Even in today’s world, even I, have a tendency to put others things in place on Sunday. I too need to be reminded to keep Sunday as a day of worship and rest for the sake of the Lord. This particular scripture ties to just how weak we can become in an instant.
For me I do not believe in any other gods; my tendency is to make excuses of why I need to get things done on Sunday that can wait. I am getting better at making Sunday more sacred and if need be serving the more needy and elderly, but only after serving God through church services.
And “the LORD said to Moses: You must also tell the Israelites: Keep my Sabbaths, for that is to be the sign between you and me throughout the generations, to show that it is I, the LORD, who make you holy.” Exodus 13: 12-13
I know that I have lost sight of how important it is to rest on the Sabbath. In this day and age, it is so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of getting things done before work begins the next day.
I think that the Israelites were so suppressed as slaves in Egypt that they needed to be taught how to be their own people again. God, through Moses and Aaron,gave these people precise rules in order to abide by God’s covenant and to gain favor with the Lord. Some rules had very strong consequences and I think God used these means to get His point across. Which is, obey Me and My Word and I will be there for you always.
Creation week was unique. We do not expect God’s activity on the first day to be repeated on every first day. What he did on the fourth day does not affect
subsequent Wednesdays. And what he did on the seventh day of creation — cease from creation — is not repeated every week thereafter. He ceased only once
If the ancient righteous people are short minded and easily fall back to sin, how much more us today when at the advent of modern technology so many of these beautiful things and promising secured lifetime and etc., can really bring great pressures and temptations or can divert our attention to the right path of our journey to Jesus. So if we do not pray and promptly regain our lucidity in faith, then boooom!!! we are now in the loose path to the hell fires.
God created the world in 6 days, then He rest on the seventh day. 7 is a perfect or fullness number in the Bible. God’s plan would be completed that He wants us to share the happiness with Him on the 7th day. It is the best way to love God and our neighbor. Australia is no different from USA & Canada in 7 days trading, in fact, its a globlization practice. We worked for 5 and half days, and all closed on Saturday afternoon & whole day Sunday till the late 70s. People born in 80s onwards take it as norm for 7 days trading. Shop owners will not get a contact in shopping complex if they do not agree to open the shops for 7 days. This is antichrist! Araron and the Israelites were so blind to make the golden calf thinking it’s the god that leading them out of slavery. So it’s very important to keep the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day holy that we can stay close to the one true God.
The Sabbath was and still in in our Catholic faith a time set aside to focus on God through prayer, worship and family life. It’s a time to set everything aside and reflect on the goodness of God’s blessings. When one works, they do so for themselves. Observing the Sabbath is giving back to God what He gave you all week in terms of strength and wisdom to gather for survival and/or life. Notice that immediately following God’s instructions to Moses to keep the Sabbath holy, the Lord gave Moses the tablets – His work was done.
But Genesis 2:2-3 does not tell us what lesson we are to learn from the seventh day of creation being made “holy” or set apart through God “resting” from his work. We understand that God does not become tired. Nor is he affected by an earthbound reality in which the motions of planetary bodies create time. This would lead us to believe the writer of Genesis again used a
literary device when speaking about the “rest” of God. That is, the “rest” of God had a symbolic meaning for him. But what was that meaning?
“Rest” is certainly a key idea here in Genesis 2:2-3. Why did the writer use the concept? What did it mean to the writer, and what should it mean to us as Christians? We have already seen that the seventh day rest follows all the creative acts of God that are summarized in Genesis 1. More than this, the rest of God follows the creation of humanity—male and female—in God’s own image (1:27-31). That the creation of man and woman was announced just before the making of the holy rest could imply that this “rest” has something to do with the creation in general and humanity in particular. God, as it were, “sits back” after setting his creative purpose in motion and pronounces everything as being good. Since God doesn’t literally get tired, we can understand his “rest” as figurative, and as part of his creative purpose. We could see the “rest” in question as extending to humans (and Israel) in some way since they seem to be the end object of God’s creative process.
Trying to answer the question: the Sabbath is important, Gen:2:2-3 God completed (creation) the work he had been doing and rested on the seventh day and he blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He is stating this again to the Israelites (who have worshipped other Gods in the past) and in their eagerness to finish the ark might forget God’s command to rest on the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Can anyone she some light on Ex 32:25-29 for me?
What I have read is that the punishment for infidelity to the convenant was death…. The blood of the covenant was a reminder of this. Therefore the Israelites who were especially guilty of idolatry died. The tribe of Levi were the only ones to rally with Moses so God took the priestly role from the other tribes and the Levites became the only priests in Israel… Leviticus is the handbook of these priests.
Thank you so much to Luz and Karen for responding to my question. My bible doesn’t have much for footnotes or anything, and I was pretty confused. I got the whole idolatry thing, but wasn’t clear on who they were slaying.
When God became aware of how the Israelites began worshiping another god, he became so irate he wanted to wipe all of the Israelites out. But Moses interceded and spared them. When Moses came down from the mountain and found out how bad the Israelites really were, he realized god was right. He was also quick to realize not ALL the Israelites were guilty sinners and therefore asked them who still had faith in our Lord. Since the Levites were the only ones that responded they had the task of killing all the sinners and became consecrated in the blood of their brother Israelites. They were obedient to Moses and God and did as they were told and became God’s dedicated men. Moses told the Levites they were ordained and they were bestowed a blessing that day by Moses.
Immediately after the Laws were engraved in stone tablets (i.e. permanent; can’t erase them or change them), the people were already breaking said commandments (esp. the law against having another god). The people responsible for tempting others in this behavior knew Aaron’s weakness of keeping control (i.e. shepherding the people). When Moses found out what they were doing, he called on those that sided with God (i.e. the Levites) and commanded them to wipe out those that fell to temptation. In other words, the penalty of not following God’s commandments is truly death, in a figurative manner. The number was exposed to be 3,000 indicates the magnitude of the poison that invaded the camps.
That you Joe for your explanation of these verses. With everyone adding input to my question, I have a good understanding now that evaded me previously.
We can’t find God’s hand with the stain of blood?
He used others to punish us with our sins. He used Jesus to redeem all our sins as perfect one because He is sinless.
Keeping holy the sabbath day was so important that whoever does work would be put to death! (Ex 31:15) I always knew it was a commandment, but I wonder if unnecessary work on Sundays would put that sin in the “mortal” category? I always considered it venial until I read the “shall be put to death” part.
Hi Helana, it all depends what “unnecessary work” means. Jesus cured people on the Sabbath (see Luke 13:10 and Mark 3:1). He followed the two commandments that all others rested upon “Love God with all your heart, your mind, and your strength and love your neighbor as yourself”. If unnecessary work is linked to helping others, than it’s o.k. If my job requires me to work on Sunday; necessary to feed my kids, then that would constitute loving one’s neighbor. Perhaps further reading from this site would help:
http://www.catholicdigest.com/articles/faith/knowledge/2011/04-18/is-it-a-sin-to-work-on-sunday
When God says to the Israelites to keep the sabbaths as it is a token between Him and the people to show that it is the Lord who makes them holy, I hear He is giving them an identity that will speak to the other people. Keeping the sabbath Holy by spending time worshiping the Lord and then honoring Him with the rest of your day by taking your rest and doing no work This would certainly stand out in this day and age where everything is open for business on the sabbath. This is not something I have always held to but now regret. Growing to Holiness is an important task, one that should be foremost on our calendars and in our hearts.
The Sabbath was to be kept as a covenant sign between God and His chosen people. It was created by God, not for God’s benefit, but for man’s benefit. Through Sabbath rest, the world will know God’s people are holy; the Sabbath is a necessary component to encourage and develop holiness.
I work as a nurse and have been working a 6 hr shift every Sunday for a good number of yrs. But I do try to make an effort to ‘rest’ on Saturdays instead – must remember to spend more time with the Lord for my own spiritual growth. PLS FORGIVE ME LORD FOR THE YEARS OF NEGLECT AND HOPE AND PRAY TO MAKE AMENDS ASAP! MERCY!
Working in health care requires 24/7 coverage especially if working in a hospital. We used to rotate to cover the Sunday shifts. There was only one person who was Jewish and made it explicitly clear upon being hired that she could not work on the Sabbath. So she got the Saturday shift instead. My current job I no longer have to work Sundays, however I still have difficulty with this commandment. If everyone was to observe the Sabbath, who would be left to care for the sick? If one is sick and unable to attend mass on a given Sunday, it is not considered a sin. So I believe if we are mandated to work yet still take the time to honor the Lord on the hours left of the day that we are not working, that is the best we can do. How do others feel about this?
Heaing is one of the acts that does not violate the Sabbath. Jesus healed on the Sabbath Luke 13:10-17 http://usccb.org/bible/luke/13
That being said health care professionals need time away from work more than the rest of us. Fatigue can cause fatal mistakes to be made.
I am pretty sure there is a dispensation for health care and other necessary occupations concerning keeping the Lord’s Day holy. Christ healed on the Sabbath, right? Like any law/rule, it can be taken to extremes: I think we need to consider whether we are “letter of the law” people or “spirit of the law” people. The challenge is to still find a way to worship – either a Saturday vigil Mass or a Sunday Mass during a lunch/dinner break?
I absolutely agree, Kerry! I also think it is your frame of mind when working. Are you working for your paycheck, which of course is part of it, or working to provide help to those in need?The latter, in my opinion, is truly God’s work. I think you can give honor to God on these days through your treatment of those in your care.
Love your comments Kerry, right on point! I have never considered my occupation as work, but as my vocation since it was pointed out to me as such, early on in my career.
You make an excellent point. I don’t think God wants everyone in health care to take the day off on Sunday and leave the patients without anyone to care for them. That goes for firemen and policemen too. Maybe that is why we have so many masses available starting with Saturday evening and going until Sunday evening. For the people who have to work 12 or 16 hour shifts on the weekends on a steady basis, I am sure God is pleased to see them pick another day to spend time in worship and then spend the rest of the day with family.
Barb, thank you for mentioning our firemen and policemen, may god bless them always. Having a Saturday evening mass has definitely been helpful in times of mandated work schedules or other family obligations. We have options, we need to plan ahead and prepare for our Lord’s worship.
I believe what you do as a nurse falls under the Corporal Acts of Mercy….as for attending Mass, isn’t it great to be Catholic with so many times to choose from!! 🙂 (The last part is said with a kind smile and a little humor!)
I also wonder at how many Catholics hurry off after Mass and do not go down to the Coffee Hour that is offered after Mass in some parishes. Also some priests have told me that keeping the Sabbath Holy can include a fun game of golf. Watching football is also definately ok on Sunday. Yea Seahawks Sorry I had to get that in somewhere
I am unfamiliar with the Coffee Hour, growing up we didn’t have that in our parish. I recently joined a new parish and they have this coffee hour, however I have no idea what it consists of, and I go to church alone, my husband does not accompany me. Going solo, makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, especially not knowing what it consists of. Can you share some light on this for me?
“Coffee Hour” after mass will be an exellent way to get over that uncomfortable feeling. Coffee hours differ from parish to parish. Some are just that coffee and fellowship. Some are so elaborate the qualify as a continental breakfast.most fall somewhere inbetween being coffee and cookies, donuts, or muffins etc. Sometimes there is a small donation. At our parish, once a month the Parish Nurses set up a table and take your blood pressure. Just introduce yourself to someone on your way from Mass to the Coffee Hour and tell them you are new to the Parish God will guide you to the right person.
They serve donuts as well, and as I am recently gluten-free, I was avoiding the event. But I realize now, I can still say yes to the coffee : ) I’ll give it a try next week, thanks!
You might mention this to the sponsoring group There are many people who are alergic to Gluten or just want to be Gluten free. Our church coffee hour is sponsored by different groups Mostly they get their donuts from a local supermarket which does have gluten free pastries.
Barbara, it took great restraint for me not to post something last evening, as well. Go Seahawks! I had a priest friend tell me that even raking leaves with my family can be okay if done as an activity which brings our family closer together much like the game of golf you spoke of.
We Catholics are very lucky in that keeping the Sabbath can be fun unlike some of our Protestant brothers and sisters who seem to think they should go about their Sundays with hushed voices and long faces. My children still talk about the weekends that we picked and canned most of our winter fruits and vegables. We would get up early Saturday and go out and pick. On our way home we would go to Saturday evening Mass (OK so we weren’t exactly dressed for the occasion) Then on Sunday we would can whatever we had picked. My children accually thought shucking corn and shelling peas was fun. 🙂
What a fun memory for your children. A friend of mine says, “work is fun and fun is work.” It’s all a state of mind and this work you did brought your family closer together certainly God was truly pleased.
How funny this is a post from a year ago, Michelle, considering what the Seahawks just did this past Sunday!
I noticed that also.
I am from Western PA so I am a Steelers Fan but I was cheering for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Our Steelers have also been known to come from behind and win the game in the last two minutes of the game that is why they are called 60 minute men. They don’t stop playing until the final buzzer. It was definitely an exciting game to watch.
I was surprised to see my comments still up from last year’s Bible study. I suppose it gives more depth to the conversation. I am doing the Study again this year but am lagging behind on the readings and posting. Go Seahawks, haha!
Attending mass and praying for an hour, watching the football game for 3 to 4 hours on sunday. Where is our attention focused?
I wonder if those football players are working and we incouraging them to break the Sabbath by watching. They could play another day, oh they do on Monday night, Thursday Night, Friday night and Saturday night. IAre sports a necessary occupation (the way some of the participants live their lives I question the message we are sending to our youths). Maybe spending time watching EWTN on Sunday afternoon would benefit us more then sports.
Workacholism is a disease that has been epidemic in the US. Often this is not Greed that causes the individual to become a workaholic but the worship of Work itself. Sometimes workaholism acutally results in less economic gain.
Barbara, your posts and comments in these sections really strike a chord with me. I believe , while I do not think I am a workaholic, I continually pray for the wisdom and strength to better focus my time on the sabbath. I could go on and on like all of us can about our demanding jobs, going to school FT, two small children, a spouse with an equally challenging schedule, but when it comes down to it, I pray God gives me the strength to continually find spiritual balance in an otherwise unbalanced world. For reasons truly outside of my control I have had to miss mass in my parish the last two weeks and feel just terrible. I know the Lord forgives but it is more of an internal struggle to find a balance that I am facing right now. It has been so comforting reading the posts on here and feeling like I have another faith family when I have to be away from my parish at times. Thank you Barbara and everyone. While I pray privately on a constant basis, read daily verses in the Word Among Us, and pray in the Liturgy of the Hours during work when I can, I still need to try and balance everything especially on the most holiest day of the week. I would love to see if there is any literature about keeping a spiritual balance in a hectic world (Christian/Catholic) minded… if anyone knows of any please drop me a note here or email me at mgiufre@wildwoodprograms.org. Blessing to you all.
Mark there is an online Catholic foram that addresses many questions in many areas of the Catholic Faith It is called CatholicAnswers.com Here is a link that will get your there
http://forums.catholic.com/index.php
Sabbath is important because God wants us to spend the time on the Sabbath day to know him more closely. God was aware of Man’s greed for more so He has compelled man to disengage himself from the money world and spend some time with him. I feel that the Sabbath is the most wonderful day for us Christians as it helps us to renew our relationship with the LORD.
Even God rested on the seventh day when He created the heavens and earth. God gave us that commandment because as we toil throughout the week at making a living, so shall we devote one day for our spiritual growth.
The Hebrews needed a bit of structure, as we all do from time to time. What better way than to give them and us a day to reflect upon our relationship with God, the Almighty.
I remember when I was young, it was a complete day of rest. Nowadays, I seem to have so much to do that the chores and/or errands spill into Sunday. Thank you for directing me to this marvelous chapter. I have begun to notice what is the more important way to spend the Sabbath. Are my errands really that foremost? I don’t think so.
I know what you mean about Sunday’s in our past. No one worked on that particular day. I knew at a young age how detrimental to the family it would be when they opened stores on Sundays.
BTW, according to our Catholic faith, the Sabbath is still on Saturday. Sundays is what we call the Lord’s Day to recognize the day He rose from the dead. The seventh day is still the Sabbath. However, the day following (i.e. the 8th day or Sunday), Catholics recognize this as the Lord’s Day. Victoranus wrote: “”The sixth day [Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day he rested from all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord’s day we may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. And let the parasceve become a rigorous fast, lest we should appear to observe any Sabbath with the Jews . . . which Sabbath he [Christ] in his body abolished” (The Creation of the World [A.D. 300]).”
What sagacious words. Oh, to relive those days of the past…Thank you Joe
The observance of Sabbath is extremely important since is it is the one day of the week the Israelites were devote themselves to the consecration to God as the Author of the universe and of time. The observance is also a sign of that the Israelites acknowledge their pact with God after being freed from bondage in Egypt. All should devote themselves to God by positive worship. It requires that all should not work. To do so, they would devote themselves to their own interests.
As Catholics, “Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ’s Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man’s eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ” (Catechism, 2175).
Like the Israelites, we need to devote ourselves to the worship of God on Sunday.
Like you, Mike, I reflected on the Lord’s Day when I read Ex. 31:12-17. Through our observance of the Eighth Day, the Lord’s Day, we look back at and look forward to what salvation history has wrought: we can not only give thanks for the week we just completed, we can ask for strength for the week we are about to face. We can embrace what our Jewish foundational ancestors were called to in covenantal worship and remembrance, and we participate in the sacrifice that has re-opened the gates of heaven for humankind.
The sabbath is important because God wants us to set aside time to worship him. We have six days to do whatever we want and even though we should be worshiping every day, often times we are too busy. If we set aside one day to worship and fellowship we are helping to build God’s kingdom. I sometimes go to daily mass, but I look forward to Sundays, there is a different feeling.
When I was reading, I noticed that this was the only one of the Ten Commandments that God explicitly mentioned. That must mean that it’s very important. I think it’s important as a reminder that God made everything and He made us. More importantly, He made us to love and worship Him. By ignoring the Sabbath and working on it, we are basically saying that our daily concerns and goings-on are more important than God. I think this commandment is one that our entire society has ignored for a long time. We are critical of others (to a greater or lesser degree) who break the other commandments, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone criticize someone else for working on Sunday.
When I was growing up, it was unusual that people worked on Sunday. Businesses were closed even grocery stores…only a few restaurants were open for business. Steadily as I got older more and more businesses began staying open on Sunday…it became the thing to do, an accepted norm. One of the things we try to do, is not go to stores on Sunday, and not work on that day ourselves. We try to get all our work done on the other days of the week and leave Sunday as a day of rest…even my husband who does not believe in Church does not work on Sunday, but keeps it as a day of rest. Though we don’t believe in criticizing others, (not a loving thing to do), we model our behavior by not working…my son-in-law’s parents own their own business…they also are not Church goers…they still close their business on Saturday at noon and don’t open up until Monday morning. If they can follow God’s commands which I believe are written on our hearts, then how much more can we do, who have the Word, and know what is asked of us. Let us then begin to follow God’s command and do as He has asked of us to the best of our ability. We can do no less.
When we come across a store closed on Sundays with signs posted saying “Closed so our families can worship with their families” I smile. It is nice to see someone applying the 10 Commandments not only to themselves but all of those effected through their employ with these companies. Chik Fil A and Hobby Lobby are two fine examples.
Unfortunately we have lost the beauty of Sunday with God & family as it was when I was growing up. I believe Sunday closures were known as the Blue Laws. But priorities of society have changed. To me it is all about greed to make more money – the “new” god. (If memory serves me correct, I believe I read somewhere that Chik Fil A owners were Pa. Dutch & would always honor Sundays. If only others would do the same.)
I absolutely agree stores opening on Sunday is for making money; that’s what capitalism is about, right? Our neighbors growing up on Sunday would always go to Mass and then spend the afternoon together culminating in a large dinner with their grown children. Walking up to my bedroom I would always notice them through their large picture window eating at a beautifully set table or talking in their living room as a family. It truly was a beautiful sight; not sure I ever thought about it being a way to honor God but from my vantage point now I am fairly certain God was smiling upon their home just as I was. This is something we should all strive for…..togetherness with our families and friends to honor God for His abundant blessings. Have a blessed day, Fran.
Another attempt at the evil one to keep tempting us away from God. Here in Canada, the law to open on Sundays came after grocers complained that pharmacies,which expanded their wares to include food stuffs, were allowed to open on Sundays. The grocers won their case and the rest is history.
In theory, they should be closed on Saturday if they wanted to fully embrace the teachings of the Ten Commandments. However, Our Lord Jesus changed all that – on the day after His crucifixion, He rested (i.e. Saturday) and rose from the dead on Sunday (which is why us Catholics and other Christians alike keep Sunday as a holy day (not the Sabbath) but the Lord’s Day. 🙂
Sadly this is a phenomenon of the
past few decades. When my husband and I were blessed to visit Ireland on a tour
last spring, Galloway was on our stop for Sunday. When we got to the city it
looked abandoned! Our guide said this was normal, Sundays were for going to
church and spending time with family!
How do we get this back in Canada and the US? With the state of organized religion, I’m not sure if we have a chance. Funny thing is that here in Ontario, we have the first or second Monday of February classified as a Family Day; hence offices and businesses are closed. They should make a given Sunday a Family Day instead but that would kill my day off on Monday. The “me” generation strikes again. 🙁