Luke (4:16) tells us that it was Jesus’ habit to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. This would be similar to us going to Mass on Sundays. The synagogue brought together the members of the Jewish faith from among all the people of other religions living in the area. The Jewish people would meet on the Sabbath Day – which we call Saturday in our calendar. It was the seventh day of the week – the
day on which God rested after the six days of creation listed in Genesis 1.
In the Christian dispensation, we keep our Sabbath (seventh) Day on Sunday because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, fulfilling the promise of a new creation. It is also good for us to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” as the fourth commandment tells us in Ex 20:8. It is good to refrain from work and to allow our employees – if we have any –
also to have a rest, and to spend time with their families. If it was good for God to take a rest, how much more beneficial is it for us to do the same?
There was a time in the past when there was no possibility for South Africans to enjoy sports, shopping, cinemas or education on a Sunday. This was obviously an over-zealous hegemonic “Christian” imposition of the Fourth Commandment on the whole of the country, even Jewish people
and Muslims who celebrate their Sabbath on Saturday and Friday, respectively. Christians were all expected to go to church and then to have Sunday lunch with the family.
It wasn’t entirely bad. It did ensure that people have at least one day off each week – whether they chose to or not. Sometimes, the family space was not where people would choose to be. However, commercial interests gradually began to overrule religious
practice. First, it was sports, then entertainment, then restaurants, then shops, until eventually, retail businesses had to make a deliberate choice not to open on Sundays.
Something was lost: The shopping malls became the new churches, where people would flock on Sunday after perhaps attending Mass in the mornings or on Saturday evening. Certainly, shopping might be a relaxing family activity - for some! But that’s not how I
remember it. It’s just one more activity for parents to be stressed about.
We need downtime, time to really chill, to connect with God and with ourselves, to sing a good hymn or two, to meet people who share our faith in the Almighty, to receive some spiritual input, and to loosen the shackles that bind us. Church attendance took a real dive during and since the Covid pandemic. The numbers aren’t back to what they were. Some
people say that they find all they used to get at church at home. But I really wonder.
Reflections by Peter Knox SJ
