Lord has made the last day of the week a special day and commanded His people to observe it with due reverence. ’Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy……The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it’ [Ex 20: 8-11]. Hallow my Sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you [Eze. 20:20]. If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day………..then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth [Isa 58:13-14].
Jews were very particular about the strict observance of sabbath. They once questioned even Jesus when he did something on a sabbath day that their orthodox minds could not accept.
As we know, sabbath was moved from the last day of the week to the first day of the week [Sunday] because Jesus rose from the dead on this day. But its importance is not lost. Christians are instructed to honor the day by attending Holy Mass and by engaging in only those activities that would glorify the day of the Lord. Gradually Sunday became the approved weekly holiday, first in Christian countries and then in other countries.
Today China, with a population of around 1. 4 billion, and where the anti-Christian communists are in power has their weekly holiday on Sundays. Similarly India that is home to more than one sixth of the world population, and where Christians are a miniscule minority [2.3%] also observe Sundays as weekly holidays. In other words, most of the countries in the world, knowingly or unknowingly, accept the importance of Sunday.
But there are certain countries where Sundays are regular working days and weekly off comes on Fridays. They are Muslim countries and for Muslims, Fridays are more important than all other days.
And the reason? Well, we don’t know it except that Muhammad preferred a day other than Sunday [Sabbath of Christians] and Saturday [Sabbath of Jews]. Muslims believe that the final judgment is going to happen on a Friday. But the Bible is very clear about the day of last judgment; we are not supposed to know it, and only God is privy to it. Again Muslims believe that prayer said at a particular hour on Fridays will find more favor with God. But the Bible does not distinguish between days and hours as far as prayer is concerned.
A disturbing fact is that trampling the Lord’s day has become so common that nowadays nobody cares for it. It doesn’t become news even in Christian countries. Christians have made Sunday a day of enjoyment and often the kind of activities they do on Sundays directly mock the holiness of Lord’s day. The Blessed Virgin laments that her children have made Sunday a day for sports, games, and entertainment [To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons].
We have made the HOLY DAY of the Lord a mere holiday for us, seldom knowing that the profanation of the sabbath is at the root of our undoing. We forget the promise attached to the strict observance of sabbath that the Lord will make us ride upon the heights of the earth [Isa 58: 14]. But sadly, we try to ride upon the heights of the earth by our own efforts and without seeking Lord’s help and finally end up losing everything.
Keep the day of the Lord holy and start counting the blessings it brings with it.
