ASK THE CHAPLAIN: Is Sunday the Christian sabbath

By: Rev. Dayna Spence

POSTED: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 - 10:15 a.m.
UPDATED: 3 DAYS AGO

(METRO CREATIVE GRAPHICS)


Dear Chaplain: Suppose a person has to work and can't go to church on Sundays, can they choose another day to honor the sabbath?

- Signed, Sunday Sabbath

Dear Sunday Sabbath: Thanks so much for your question. First, the sabbath comes from a Hebrew word which means to rest or to cease. The first mention of resting or ceasing in the Bible is in the creation story. In Genesis 2:2-3, it says, "On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day...and blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work." We can gather from this text that there is a time to work and a time to rest. If God himself didn't work around the clock, but set aside a time to rest and enjoy the fruits of his labor, then we should too. The work and rest concept seemed to be understood from the beginning of time since there was no sabbath law until after the Children of Israel were delivered from Egypt. The sabbath law was not instituted until after Moses was given the 10 Commandments, and it was so new to them that God had to explain to them how to keep it, in detail.

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." - Exodus 10:8-11

When the Children of Israel were in Egypt they were slaves who were worked mercilessly. They were burdened with extremely harsh labor. Many of their bodies gave way due to utter exhaustion because the Egyptians forced them to work in ways that were cruel and inhumane. To me, this law serves as a perpetual, visual reminder to the world, and an everlasting spiritual reminder to our Jewish brothers and sisters, that they would never be forced to work like that again.

"And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." - Deut 5:15

As Christians, we are not obligated to keep the sabbath (which is on Saturday) or to fulfill the law of Moses, but rather we are obligated to an even higher standard, a more superior law, which is the law of Christ...and that law is Love. ("Fulfill each other's burdens and you fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 "Love is fulfilling the law." Romans 13:10 "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." - Matthew 22:36-40

In the early church many observed both the sabbath, as well as "Resurrection Sunday," the day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead and the day the Holy Spirit came to the apostles. Sunday was also the day the Apostle Paul and other Christians gathered "to break bread." Eventually, it became commonplace that Christians set aside Sundays as their day rest, corporate worship and to commemorate the resurrection of Christ.

So, to answer your question, you are not commanded to observe the sabbath as the Children of Israel did in the Old Testament, and you're not obligated to celebrate Resurrection Sunday as your day of rest and worship. As a follower of Christ, you are free to set aside any day you choose for rest and worship, and that choice should be respected. ("Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days." Colossians 2:16) It doesn't matter which religious days we keep, what's important is that we have a personal relationship with the Lord.

Ask the Chaplain is written by Rev. Dayna Spence, an ordained minister, licensed evangelist, and chaplain who's served as a hospital chaplain and is currently serving as a hospice chaplain Chester County area. Please email "Ask the Chaplain" at 4thechaplain@gmail.com or write to, PO Box 1284, West Chester, PA 19380.

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