I work, at the moment, about 60-70 hours a week. More than anything, I look forward to the Sabbath day. The word Sabbath literally means to cease or rest; I take it from our labors of the week. This is my day to rest. I rest from most of the things I do all week. I have chosen to make the Sabbath day different from all of the other days of the week. I strive to make it sacred and holy. These are some of the references I have used to set goals for how I want to observe the sabbath day.
Exodus 20: 8-11 reads--"remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all they work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor they son, nor they daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within they gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
Isaiah 58:13 & 14--"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, thy holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shat thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places on the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."
So when is the sabbath day...well...in the old testament, it was the seventh day (seven being a sacred number), but no name is given to it, as far as a named day of the week. In the new testament, the sabbath day was changed to the first day of the week in commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ. Acts 20:7--"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." Note: There are other references to "the LORD's day" other than just this one.
From the Bible Dictionary(Authorized King James Version with explanatory notes and cross references to the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, c.1979, pg. 765)--"The importance of a sacred day for man to rest from his temporal labors, contemplate the word of the Lord, and assemble for public worship is a major item in a person's spiritual development. Furthermore, a decay in the national religious life always follows any tendency toward carelessness in the matter of Sabbath observance. The existence of a weekly holy day is a most important safeguard; it leaves a constant reminder to the individual of his need for spiritual sustenance and his duty before God, and serves as a witness to the world that there is such a thing as revealed religion.
The change from observing the last day of the week to the first day of the week is not so important as is the concept and principle of the Sabbath. In either case, the Sabbath was symbolic of the mighty works of God, i.e., the creation of the earth, the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead."
To confuse us even more, some calendars have Sunday as the first day of the week, some have it as the last day of the week. Most Christians and Jews choose Sunday in commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ, while Muslims choose Friday and yet others choose Saturday. It doesn't really matter, in my opinion. A day set aside to worship the LORD is what is important.
As for me, I have chosen a myriad of ways to observe the Sabbath, on Sunday. I don't shop on Sunday. I don't work on Sunday. No laundry. No dishes. No mowing the lawn. No washing the car. No vacuuming, and I think you see the pattern forming here. I don't go out to eat on Sunday; for if I shop or go out to eat, I am, in essence, requiring someone else to work on the Sabbath. Sunday was a family day when my children were growing up. They played with their friends all week long, but on Sunday, they stayed in the house and we were together as a family. They didn't go out and play. If we were camping or something like that, we stayed in camp.
So, what do I do? I go to church for one. Renewing my baptismal covenants by taking the sacrament. Listening and reflecting on the talks, hymns, music and lessons. I write letters. Do genealogy. Rest. Read my scriptures or something church related. Spend time with the family. I don't listen to the radio (local stations) to or from church. If I watch TV, I strive to make it something uplifting; something that won't take away from the spirit. Something religiously based. To me the sabbath day is a very sacred and holy day. It is the LORD'S day. It is the day that I show my love and respect for Him who gave everything for me. Who sacrificed ALL for me. It is my day to sacrifice the things I do all week in thanks and remembrance to Him.
These are my feelings and what I do. They in no way reflect what one has to do. It is what I choose to do. Periodically, I reflect on what else I can do to show my love and thanks. I am always looking for new ways to do this. New ways to show my love, respect, thanks and gratitude.
So that's the scoop from this corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment