Day of Rest

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102725.cfm

I think that we might all have a different idea of what rest and relaxation looks like, and I have had this conversation with many people when it comes to appropriately honoring the Lord's Day. Today's Gospel gives us more to consider than you might imagine on the surface.

Recently in a session of The SEARCH, a program which walks through the key tenets of Christianity over seven weeks, I was asked: why did God have to rest on the seventh day, was He tired? This was a very sensible question. If we look at the text of Genesis literally, we see that 'resting' is literally 'not working'. This literal interpretation is certainly what the Jewish leaders of Jesus' time were trying to faithfully observe. As a matter of fact, they had taken it to the most extreme level. Limits on how far one could walk, tying or untying (includes shoelaces), tearing paper, writing or erasing, carrying things, or in modern usage - turning on light switches or pressing an elevator button. Many of these were put in place to prevent accidental work.

I don't list these things to mock their practices, but in fact to be in awe of how seriously they took God's command. Christians, on the other hand have interpreted today's Gospel and others to mean that Sunday is a free for all. Stores open 24-7, sports practice on Sunday morning, taking a chance to catch up on work e-mails, lawn maintenance, cleaning day in the house. Some even go to church on Saturday so that they have the whole day on Sunday to do their work.

I wonder what message Jesus might have preached into THIS scenario? We get some clues from what Jesus did on the Sabbath. He taught and talked about His mission on earth, and His Father in heaven. He healed those in need on Sunday. He allowed His Apostles to pick grain because they were hungry on the Sabbath. Perhaps most importantly, He rose from the dead on Sunday, establishing it as the Lord's Day and the day around which our Sabbath practices would develop. After the Resurrection, He appeared to His disciples on the Road to Eumaeus and walked with them and taught them about scripture. He broke bread with them, and then went to the Apostles, forgave them and ate with them.

From this, we get a great picture of what Sunday can be. A time of immersing ourselves in who God is and what He has done. In Genesis, before God rests, He looks on all that He has done and sees that it is VERY GOOD. We can also see that time with friends and loved ones, breaking bread and speaking of the might acts of God (the Apostles do this on Pentecost) is also a repeated theme. There are many other activities that we could assess and evaluate, just as the Jews did: is it OK to watch football if the players are forced to 'work' on Sunday. What if my job includes shift work? Is it OK to help a neighbor with a project on their house? All valid questions that I will not address fully here.

Let's start with the basic concept: Honor God and speak openly about what He is doing in your life and the lives of others around you. Spend time, more than just an hour at Mass, thinking and talking about the scriptures. Be intentional about time with family. Do your work on other days if that is possible. There is a current NFL promotion that emphasizes getting your work done on Saturdays so that you can 'earn your Sunday'. If you can do it to be available to watch football, maybe you can do it to be available to the Lord. Rest includes marveling at all that God has created and done and recognizing that it is indeed VERY GOOD.

NOTE: On the second and fourth Sunday of the month, I run a program called way | truth | life where we examine the beauty of what God has shared with us through Jesus Christ and the Church that He founded. Looking always to how Jesus is the way, the truth and the life not only for us individually, but for His Church. Second Sundays: St. Richard Church after 10 AM Mass, Fourth Sunday at St. Catherine after 9:15 Mass. smmpgh.org/wtl