Sunday, Sunday

One Sunday night we were driving home from a weekend trip.

My young grandson hadn’t eaten much at dinner and now, at 9:00, he was hungry.

We were all eager to get home, and still had another hour to drive.

But we decided we’d grab something for him at the next fast food place.

There was a McDonald’s at the next exit just a few miles up the road.

But as we approached, it looked kind of dark and empty.

When we pulled up by the door we could read the sign.

Closed 8:PM on Sunday’s.

We found the same thing with the Wendy’s at the next exit.

How inconvenient!

We’ve come to expect that just about anything we want will be available 24/7.

But it wasn’t all that long ago when almost every business was closed on Sunday.

Hospitals, police and fire departments, utility companies, public transportation, hotels,

And other essential services operated at reduced levels.

But they were the few exceptions.

Today, things have shifted in the other direction.

Most non-service businesses still close.

But now, most service-industry businesses are open.

And the service sector has grown to employ a much larger portion of the workforce.

Sunday’s a big day at the Shopping Mall.

A workday for many, and a diversion for the rest.

Except in those few states that still enforce laws restricting Sunday business activity.

Years ago when I lived in New England, most of the states there had strict “Blue Laws”.

A holdover from their early Puritan days when they tried to enforce religious rules by civil law.

But those laws have been generally repealed, or relaxed, or left unenforced.

Jewish law was very strict regarding work and other activities on the Sabbath.

And interpretation of that law became a key point of dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees.

They disagreed on many of the finer points.

But they actually agreed on the larger point that Jesus reminds them of in today’s Gospel.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

God gives us the Sabbath as a day of rest.

His third commandment tells us Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

That keeping holy does involve devoting time to worshiping God.

But it's all for our benefit, not God’s.

And that keeping holy also involves resting and devoting time to ourselves and our families.

For many people, caught in the struggle to survive, it’s hard to make that time.

And for those with the luxury of leisure time, the distractions make it hard.

So God gives us the added incentive of commanding that we do it at least once a week.

He tells us that it’s not only okay, but required.

During our country’s era of slavery

Jesuits and other missionaries tried to baptize as many slaves as they could.

There are stories of mass baptisms, spraying the slaves with hoses, at the ports and slave pens.

Those missionaries weren’t just trying to crank up the number of Christians in the New World.

They were trying to ensure that those poor slaves would be entitled to at least one day of rest.

Christian slave holders, of which there were regrettably many,

Would have to grant that Sabbath rest to their Christian slaves.

Some people still maintain very strict rules regarding their Sunday activities.

They avoid work of any kind – except for true emergencies.

They avoid shopping or riding a bus or any activity that might require someone else to work.

Some won’t even watch football players work on TV.

We can all differ on our interpretations of just what it means to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

But we should make sure that our own interpretation honors the gift that God is giving us.

2nd Tuesday Ordinary Time

Mk 2:23-28      Read this Scripture @usccb.org