Bible Reading: Mark 2:23-27
Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Exodus 20:8
“And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” Hebrews 4:4, niv
THE FINAL BELL rang. Jesse slammed his locker door shut and started toward the school doors. He saw Steven in the jostling crowd ahead and pushed forward until he was walking beside his friend.
“What are you doing this weekend?” Jesse asked.
Steven shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. How about you?”
“I’m gonna be pretty busy down at church. Our youth group is helping with worship on Sunday, so …”
“You sound like you enjoy that stuff,” Steven said.
“I do! Sunday mornings are great. And then we (my family, I mean) usually spend Sunday afternoons doing stuff together. Even if we just play Monopoly, it’s kinda cool because it’s different from any other day in the week. And Sunday dinner is always the best meal of the week.”
“Your Sunday is sure different from mine. The only way I know it’s Sunday is that there’s more newspaper lying around the house.”
Jesse shrugged as he and Steven boarded the school bus together. “My parents say that Sunday shows us God’s grace, because he gives us a day not to work. It reminds us that he gives us things, not because we deserve them, but just because that’s the way God is!”
Is your Sunday any different from the rest of the week? Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man; that means it’s a special day with a special meaning. We are to use it as God’s day to understand more about him, especially about his graciousness toward us.
It’s not always easy to know how to make and keep Sunday special. Even in Jesus’ time there was disagreement over how people should spend the Sabbath (as today’s reading shows). But from the beginning, God wanted us to enjoy a special day of rest and re-creation.
REFLECT: Sabbath is a Hebrew word that means “to stop doing something.” What do you stop doing on your Sabbath? What do you start doing? How is your Sunday different from other days? What can you do to make it more special?
PRAY: “God, sometimes I forget what Sunday is all about. Help me to remember your graciousness for your sake and for mine.”
