Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Once, I encountered a Catholic group that decided to hold their annual summer picnic in the park on Sunday morning. It seemed strange to me that a group calling themselves Catholic would choose to have a picnic on a Sunday, a day traditionally reserved for attending mass and observing God's commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. The group leader argued that it is difficult to find a weekend schedule that accommodates everyone for a picnic in the park. But this seemed like a weak excuse to me, considering there are many public parks in the area where they could easily have a picnic on Saturday instead. But who am I to judge? Not surprisingly, the following year, this group continued their tradition of holding the annual picnic on Sunday morning.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus claims that His Father works on the Sabbath and so He is also working on the Sabbath by healing the man and telling him to carry his mat. Jesus’ statement, however, should not be an excuse for any Catholic for not honoring the Lord’s Day, either for traveling, work, sports events, or social gatherings. Jesus made the statement in the context of God’s authority over the Sabbath is also His because He is the Son of God. Since we are not Christ, we cannot play God by thinking we have the authority over the Sabbath and finding an excuse for not attending Mass and resting from unnecessary work or social events. Sabbath is the story of creation; God brought the creation to completion in six days, and on the seventh, the Sabbath, he did not do anything but rest: a day of freedom for all, a day of communion with God. Sabbath becomes the day of rest when we free ourselves from the workaday world. God is properly worshipped when we are at rest, so we do not “labor” on this day. During the rest of the Lenten season, perhaps we can reflect on how we can Make Sabbath Holy Again.