THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN!
Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
My dear encountered couples:
It seems the Lord’s Day observance has gone from one extreme to another. From absolutely no work at all to doing all the work we can squeeze in. The Jews in their ultra-conservatism were offended by the disciples of Jesus pulling off heads of grain as they walked through the fields. “That’s work,” they said, “and this is the Sabbath. Why do they do such a thing not permitted on the Sabbath?” they asked Jesus. They should be here now.
Nowadays there is no need to go to all that trouble of pulling off heads of grain on Sunday, supermarkets are available in most every city. Malls with all their variety of stores are open for business on Sundays as well as on any other day. In many cities there are stores open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. God probably finds it just as hard to fit into the world’s busy schedule on Sundays as much as he does on weekdays.
Yes, the world has gone from one extreme to another. Many people seem to be giving the almighty dollar more attention on Sundays than they are giving to Almighty God. What are we to do about that?
You tell me. Common sense might help. As I understand it, the original idea of a Sabbath Day, which is Saturday for the Jews and Sunday for the Christians (Friday for the Moslems), was to fill a need that human beings have - a spiritual one and a psychological one. Spiritual in that we need God; without him we dry up and our lives become no more than exercises in futility. Psychological in that we need a change from the work-a-day world. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” - also burned out and stressed out. Jesus told us that “The sabbath was made for man.” Let’s you and I use Sunday for what is best for us - To thank God and enjoy.
