Sabbath Law

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,                  

his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.  
At this, the Pharisees said to him,
"Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
He said to them,
"Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?"
Then he said to them,
"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

Imagine that, what gall, hungry men plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath!  Don't they know that this is not permitted, that they are supposed to rest?  What about this walking business?  That certainly is not permitted on the Sabbath!  The Pharisees were on hand to point this out to Jesus. He, for his part, went back into history and reminded the listeners of how hungry men took the bread intended for the priests and that was okay.  Then, He came to the heart of the matter and said what His disciples were doing was lawful because He was Lord of the Sabbath and that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 

The first century Jews had lost track of what the Sabbath was all about. It was about rest and relaxation to restore the body and soul for the work week ahead.  The Jews did believe in resting on the Sabbath but as is typical of man, why not take something simple and make it complex as possible?  To this simple command of resting one day in seven, we humans piled on the complications, such as making limits as to how far one could walk on the Sabbath, once you got to that point you had to stop until the Sabbath was over and rest.  There were laws that regulated everything about the Sabbath all splitting hairs over and over again.  Jesus knew what the Sabbath was for and it wasn't that man was made to serve the Sabbath but it was the Sabbath that was to be a servant to man. Jesus, being God, knew what the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy meant and simply informed the on-lookers that "The Son of Man was the lord of the Sabbath."  

I remember in my youth, a very long time ago to be sure, that most stores were closed on Sunday as were most other places of business, although there were some exceptions.  Stores like Walgreens and Rexall were open so you could get your medications filled.  If the drug store had a liquor department a sign told you that you were not able to purchase intoxicants on the Sabbath before noon. So, Sunday was seen as a day of rest to be spent doing things that brought serenity back into your life.   Today, of course, we see Sunday as just another day.  There are no "blue laws" in effect, our society does not recognize the Sabbath.  Even in the Christian community, many Protestant denominations do not have any belief that there is an obligation to come together once a week and worship, members are free to come or not, it does not matter.  Some people are twice a year Christians, Easter and Christmas being the days that they attend.  For Catholics worshipping on Sunday is obligatory and those that do not attend mass commit a grave sin.  The Church knows how important this weekly gathering is and so makes this fact clear to her members. 

Catholics have a legal obligation to go to Church. The rule is there for those that require them to force their attendance.  But, if we really think what the mass is, there would be no need to have any rule and every church would be full at every mass.  We are fed at Mass with the Word of God in the written word, spoken word and in the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist. 

Think of it.  At every Mass, Jesus appears in person in the guise of what appears to be bread and wine.  We are there and we can take the God of the universe into ourselves as heavenly food and for a time Creator and creature are joined to each other and each creature is united in this communion with all other members of the Church.  How can we imagine staying away?  Yes, the Sabbath was made for man as Jesus says and worshipping together is the prime way we should celebrate it.  We need a spiritual oasis in our busy lives and in the Catholic Church, heaven comes to earth and God and man become one and we can be no closer to God this side of heaven. 

The truth is that not everyone goes directly to heaven. Some of us need to prepare ourselves by divesting attachments to sin and to the things of this world and chose Purgatory. You may, in fact, have relatives or friends there that need your prayers to help them get out of Purgatory and into heaven.  Praying for the dead is one of the Spiritual Acts of Mercy. Please pray for your friends and relatives by name.  If they are in fact already in heaven, your prayers will go to another deserving soul. Remember, As they are today you might someday be.