What are my values in life? Every person has a hierarchy of values; it’s simply part of life.
“The disciples do what is not allowed on the Sabbath” (Mt 12:3) what is not allowed” (Mk 2:24)? But he said to them: “The Son of Man also lords over the Sabbath” (Mt 12:8)? Many people think about the meaning of celebrating Sunday and keeping it. We heard that the Pharisees caught Jesus’ disciples plucking ears of corn because they were hungry. We see how they verbally attacked Jesus. They always found something imperfect in people and immediately blamed them. In this way, the meaning of the Sabbath was completely lost in trivialities. In this way, they kept reducing the value of the Sabbath, and the meaning of rest was completely lost. It became a ritual for them and a burden for the people.
Now let’s try to look at this problem from a different point of view, as today’s people perceive it. How do people look at Sunday today when witnessing a great boom in business activities? Let’s take such an example. We often hear how Sunday has become professionalized after many shops are open. Various Carrefour, Hypermarkets, Polus centers and Tesco have become a modern temple where everyone can meet and talk to each other. It is already becoming a certain rule, how best to spend Sunday time. Sunday as a holiday has become a thorn in the side, especially for those who want to bind people with new forms of slavery. We have even heard such an opinion that the Church should transfer services to shopping centers. It is an interesting idea how this issue could be solved. The employees’ reluctance to deal with such a situation results from a simple reason.
The more I work, the more I earn; everything revolves around that. What will the Church do, or what has she already done in this situation? Pastoral letters and even a joint statement to the government were written. We are witnessing that it is difficult to move anything in this matter. People don’t seem to see or don’t want to see that the Church has always been concerned with people’s spiritual and material well-being. Therefore, this challenge is much more current and necessary. God always wanted the best for people. Christ does not hide this even from the Pharisees, even though they always condemned him. Today’s man must realize that no one can change the natural law in himself. God commanded man to subdue the earth, rule the world in righteousness and holiness, and center himself and the universe around God. Then we see that God gives people the Sabbath as a day of “rest” when they should contemplate the work of God. It is not just sweet idleness but the relationship dynamic between God and man. When Christ redeemed all mankind, the day of rest became Sunday, the first day of the week. The Lord’s Day also appears to us as the Church’s Day.
We thank God for the whole week we worked for ourselves, for people, and for God’s kingdom. The day of the Lord always directly connects with the day of man. Rest is a sacred thing for every person, and it is necessary to break away from the cycle of earthly duties. Amen.
