The Gospel for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity is from St. Luke 14:1-11 and is set at a dinner with the Pharisees. Jesus teaches through a miraculous healing on the Sabbath. This healing brings up the topic of Christ's attitude toward the Sabbath. Unlike many of His contemporaries, our Lord did not have a narrow or legalistic view of the Sabbath.
Nevertheless, Jesus did not ignore or reject the commandment to observe and keep holy the Sabbath. He taught people to follow the general purposes of all the Commandments, and in the Gospels, we are shown that Jesus participated in Sabbath worship in synagogues. Even in those cases where Jesus or His disciples are accused of not keeping the Sabbath properly, He and His followers are not shown doing ordinary work. Instead, the issue is a matter of how to best use the Sabbath, as here in Luke 14. Basically, Jesus taught by word and example that the Sabbath had three purposes: worship, general rest, and performing deeds of mercy.
After Christ's Resurrection, His followers did add something. Because of the Resurrection, they also gathered for worship on the first day of the week (Sunday) which they called the Lord's Day. As the Church grew, the vast majority of Christians were Gentiles who were not required to keep all the details of Jewish ceremonial Law. So instead of observing both Saturday and Sunday, Christians soon just observed Sunday because it was the Day of Christ's Resurrection. Christians applied the three New Testament purposes of the Sabbath (worship, rest, and mercy) to the Lord's Day.
Unfortunately, some Christians have had difficulty keeping a balanced view of Sunday. Many people who claim to be Christians do not really observe any sort of sabbath. At most, they may say a private prayer or visit a short service, but then they devote themselves to ordinary work, household chores, or lots of beer and sports.
In my opinion, Christians need to reclaim New Testament respect for the general purposes of the Sabbath, and when possible, apply these purposes to Sunday. We shouldn't be harsh legalists who try to abolish all fun and recreation. But for ourselves, we should see Sunday as the Lord's Day- a time set aside for worship, for simple forms of rest and relaxation, and for showing mercy to the sick and afflicted.
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