Do we live the day of the Lord and his grace?

"Saturday was made for man, not man for Saturday." Mark 2:27

This statement made by Jesus was made in response to some Pharisees who were criticizing Jesus' disciples for picking up heads of wheat on Saturday as they walked through the fields. They were hungry and did what was natural for them. However, the Pharisees used it as an opportunity to be irrational and critical. They claimed that by collecting the heads of wheat, the disciples were violating the Sabbath law.

First of all, from the point of view of basic common sense, it is silly. Would our loving and merciful God really be offended because the disciples collected heads of wheat to eat while walking in the fields? Perhaps a scrupulous mind may think so, but every slightest sense of natural common sense should tell us that God is not offended by such an action.

Jesus' final statement on this sets the record. "Saturday was made for man, not man for Saturday." In other words, the central point of the Sabbath day was not to impose a scrupulous burden on us; rather, it was to free us to rest and worship. Saturday is a gift from God to us.

This takes on practical implications when we look at how we celebrate Saturday today. Sunday is the new Saturday and is a day of rest and worship. Sometimes we can consider these requirements as burdens. We are not given an invitation to follow commands in a scrupulous and legalistic way. They are given to us as an invitation to the life of grace.

Does this mean that we don't always need to go to Mass and rest on Sunday? Certainly not. These Church precepts are clearly the will of God. The real question has to do with how we look at these commands. Rather than falling into the trap of seeing them as legal requirements, we must strive to live these commands as invitations to grace, given to us for our well-being. The commands are for us. They are necessary because we need Saturdays. We need Sunday mass and we need a day to rest every week.

Reflect today on how you celebrate the Day of the Lord. Do you see the call to worship and rest as an invitation from God to be renewed and refreshed by his grace? Or you see it only as a duty that must be fulfilled. Try to take the right attitude this day, and the Day of the Lord will take on a whole new meaning for you.

Lord, thank you for establishing the New Sabbath as a day to rest and worship you. Help me live every Sunday and holy day of obligation in the way you want. Help me to see these days as your gift to adore and renew. Jesus I believe in you.