By FRED ANDREA Columnist
Fred Andrea
Prior to Sunday before last, I had been looking forward with great anticipation to today’s worship emphasis. If there is anything a preacher can get worked up about, it is the way Sunday is used and abused.
As a pastor, I was really looking forward to preaching about the Lord’s Day until Sunday before last. That afternoon, I tried to combine study with pleasure. I took my Bible and some notes to begin initial study for today’s message. At the same time, I flicked on the television, I began reading a resource which deals with today’s topic. It began like this: “The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance.” “Amen” I said to myself, “Preach on.”
The statement continued: “The Lord’s Day commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.” “Amen,” I said again, “Preach on.”
Then the statement said: “The Lord’s Day is to be observed by resting from secular employment and by refraining from worldly amusements.” I glanced up at that football game on television. I knew right then I was in trouble. You see, that statement had quit preaching and had gone to meddling!
What does Sunday mean to you? How should it be observed? How are your Sundays employed? Today, I invite you to examine with me your opinion in light of the Scriptures. Such illumination, I believe, can inform and perhaps reform our attitudes towards the Lord’s Day.
First, let me emphasize that relaxation and recreation than as a day of worship and devotion.
Some people say quite candidly, “Pastor, you will not see us every Sunday. We go to the lake.” Or, “Pastor, you’ll just have to understand that now it is basketball season and we will be away when the games are on Sunday.” For many families, Sunday worship has evolved into a pattern of one or two Sundays each month, while the other Sundays are devoted entirely to other things.
It is exactly at this point that our attitude needs to be informed and reformed by the New Testament. The New Testament witnesses that Sunday is, first, to be a day of worship, before it is devoted to the pursuit of any other activity. It may also have to be a time of work as your duty demands it, or you may be able to enjoy a time of rest and relaxation. But for Christians, Sunday is first and foremost a day of worship.
What I have said may well have raised some questions in your mind. You may want to ask: “Are you then saying, Pastor, that work is okay on Sunday if worship comes first? Are you in favor of the stores being opened and operated more fully on Sunday?
My answer is, “No,” but the basis for my response is broader than Sunday observance alone. My answer is no because I don’t agree with the rabid commercialism which seeks to squeeze work from its employees every day of the week and to squeeze coins from its customers at every possible opportunity.
My answer is no because I do not agree with those who completely ignore the spiritual dimension of life. To take away a day when there is at least the possibility for spiritual nurture in a spiritually undernourished society makes me want to protest. I thank God for store managers who will not open their doors on Sunday, and who even more encourage their employees not just to take a day off but also to see spiritual sustenance.
There is another side to this matter, though. We people of faith may now be in a position to be more responsible in our worship and more authentic in our witness. Our position is that of Christians prior to the fourth century when Emperor Constantine made Sunday a public holiday. In an increasing secular society, we are a minority group. There are numerous alternatives to Sunday worship attendance - everything from flea markets to do shows to athletic events. The very laws about which so many people have despaired, have freed us to demonstrate even more effectively how important the day is.
When you think about it, we do not want people to come to church just because there is nothing else to do, but rather because they want to worship God.
The law which disturbs us has given us an uneasy freedom. It is a freedom in which we can demonstrate worship born not out of habit, nor out of convenience, but out of authentic commitment to the claims and call of God.
Your observance of Sunday is really up to you. I cannot dictate how your Sundays will be spent, nor will I be your judge on how you use them. I can assure you, however, that the New Testament intended that Sunday be used first for worship. Essentially, it is not the Sabbath. It is the Lord’s Day.
And perhaps we would do well to remember: He whose day it is, is the one we are ultimately responsible for the way we observe it. May the One to whom we belong, be the One to whom this day in our lives belongs.
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