“In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.”
Romans 14:5 NLT
In many ways this verse today is very applicable to Western cultures. For example, our retail industry demands a 7-day working week, with shop assistants, delivery drivers and others having to work on a Sunday, which is considered by many people to be a “holy day”. In the Western Isles in Scotland, Sunday is still considered to be a day of rest, a Sabbath, and in recent years there have been protests and much opposition to anything considered to be “work”. It is only in the latter half of the twentieth century that shops, for example, have been allowed to open here in the UK, and Sabbath principles are still clinging on with restrictions on the sales of certain items. Traditional Presbyterianism has demanded that the Biblical principle of a day of rest is followed strictly.
Our society has become a 24/7 merry-go-round of work, more work, little play and even less of a focus on having a “holy day”. Global communications and universal internet availability facilitate remote working for the white-collar professions. Economic demands encroach into what should be leisure time. But right at the beginning of time as we know it, God set an example for mankind to follow. We read in Genesis 2:2-3, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation”. By convention, God followers, whether Jewish or Christian, have encouraged the implementation of a “holy day”. The Jewish sabbath. The Christian Sunday. God’s blueprint for mankind followed – until recently that is. In the secular West, a “holy day” has been displaced to become a leisure day, for golf, gardening or some other pastime like shopping or visiting friends or relatives. Human beings, like God, need to rest from labour. We know that working 7-day weeks will wear us down quite quickly, leading to burn out and ill health.
But is it necessary to have a “holy day”? Shouldn’t everyday be dedicated to God? That is right, of course, but a day spent in fellowship with other Christians, corporately worshipping our Heavenly Father, is a time when our spirits are recharged and refilled once again with the Holy Spirit. A time when we take time out from the mundane and briefly look upwards into Heavenly places. A time when we look over the parapets of Heaven and get a glimpse of the Glory lands beyond. A time when we receive some dimly-lit ideas, even visions, of what eternal life will be like. A time when we hear a preacher explore the Word and sing spiritual psalms and songs together. A time when the Holy Spirit has room to minister God’s love and grace amongst us. And as the sun sets on a holy day we look into the week, refreshed and re-equipped to make a difference in our jobs, our schools, our families, and our communities.
Father God. We thank You for Your example of taking a day of rest and the opportunity of spending it in worship to You. May we turn our pews into altars of praise and worship to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 