Bible Study: Keeping Holy the Sabbath
While scrolling through some recommended posts, I stumbled upon one that claimed Catholics and Christians who attend worship services on Sundays are not following the third commandment correctly. Their claim is the third commandment says the sabbath, or Saturday, is the day the Lord proclaimed as holy and free of labor.
This is true!
While the Lord did ask the Israelites to reserve a day to rest from their labor and thank God, we must learn the context of the situation. It reflected God’s seven-day creation reiterating working six days and relaxing on the seventh day; however, it is NOT part of the genesis story. Interestingly enough, the first time we hear of the sabbath rest is when Moses instructs the Israelites to rest in response to the miracles God was blessing them with (aka the manna).
From this, we can make peace with the fact that the Church did not change the commandments when switching to Sunday worship but instead she brought light to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-20,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.“
What does this mean?
So how do we make sense of now worshiping on Sundays and not the sabbath? Are we breaking the third commandment?
Not really. Remember that we are God’s children, and like any good parent, and a perfect parent for that matter, God had to discipline humanity to prepare them for something greater that was to come—SPOILER: the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ!
As Christians, we know the reason God imposed restrictions and rules that to us seem arbitrary; yet we know He was teaching us to depend on Him. When Moses received the commandments, we read how the Jews were very whiny and ungrateful when they faced the slightest discomfort, despite being freed from the Egyptians.
Christ Fulfills the Sabbath Law
Furthermore, based on the quote we just read from Matthew’s Gospel, we know that the commandments were in part to foreshadow God’s plan. Jesus fulfills the requirement of keeping the SABBATH holy by conquering death that came from original sin. We no longer need to ponder God’s creation wonders; rather, we additionally are to commemorate God’s incarnation and resurrection, which partook on the first day, Sunday.
Isn’t it interesting how, with the resurrection of Christ, we see the beautiful fulfillment of God’s divine plan for human salvation? The Lord commanded the jews to follow strict rules to prepare for God’s mission for humanity.
We follow the new law of Christ, but that does not take away the third commandment. As I once heard in a two-part video by Fr. Chris, the commandments rest in all human hearts. It is what moves us to love God and our neighbors–which is what Jesus taught!
Please take a look at the following screenshot taken from Fr. Chris’s video–the video is actually about the sacrament of reconciliation; as we know, doing a good examination of consciousness begins with analyzing the ten commandments.
Doesn’t the New Testament Mention Sabbath Observation?
Some people might use the book of Acts as “evidence” to support their sabbath claim. Still, read the passages yourself; it should be clear that the verses refer to the apostles going to the synagogue on the sabbath to proclaim the Gospel, not necessarily to continue the Jewish observance.
[The book of Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:12-13; 18:1,4,11]
In Acts 18:4, we read that “Every sabbath [St. Paul] would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks” [emphasis added]. And throughout the book of Acts, we can see that the purpose of their visitation to the synagogues on the sabbath was to share the Good News and open their eyes to the fulfillment of Christ.
Why We Worship on Sundays?
An article by Tim Staples in Catholic.com states that many other passages like Acts 2:42, Acts 20:8-11, and 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, prove that the real gathering to worship and break off the bread, as commanded by Jesus Christ in the Gospels, took place on the first day of the week–that is Sunday.
Sunday is the Lord’s day because it is when Jesus Christ resurrected and conquered sin! It is a day of celebration. A day of worship and thanksgiving- hints why we call the consecrated host Eucharist!
On Sundays, we thank the Lord for fulfilling the old law and giving us new life in Christ, our Savior. We partake in communion and the breaking of the bread in remembrance of Jesus as He told us to do so.
I’ll leave you with this article with references from Early Christians on resting and worshipping on the Eighth-day, not the sabbath.
Excerpt: “But every Lord’s day . . . gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned.” (Didache 14 [A.D. 70]).”
Let me know how I can pray for you today 🙂
God bless!