Sunday -- The Rest of the Story
by Brandon Jubar
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.
(Ps 118:24)
It's one of the most difficult topics for parents or youth ministers to
talk about with teens. Is it sex? No. Is it drugs? No. Is it the overabundance
of violence in the world today? Nope. All of those things are easier to
talk about than this. This one topic gets hearts pounding among adults
more than any other.
What is it, you ask?
It's the Third Commandment: Keep holy the Sabbath.
The Most Common Sin
The reason that so many parents have a hard time discussing the third
commandment is because it is the one that most Catholics break on a regular
basis. How do I know this? Because I attend Mass every week and I see
the number of people in the pews swell on Christmas and Easter. It doesn't
take a statistician to figure out what's going on.
In today's fast-paced society, most people are racing along at a break-neck
pace to simply make ends meet. Workdays are longer than ever, more people
take work home with them, and stress related illnesses and deaths are
skyrocketing. When are people supposed to get anything done around the
home?
Being
a teen today isn't much better. Tough classes, sports and extracurricular
activities, youth group and religious education -- all take time and all
take their toll. If Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, why can't
we just sleep in and rest? And that's just what many people do.
Rest From Work, Not Worship
"Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had
been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested
from all the work he had done in creation." (Genesis 2:2-3)
Most of us labor at something all week long, whether it's school or work,
and we deserve a break from it. But that doesn't mean we get to do nothing.
For our Jewish brethren, the seventh day of the week -- Saturday -- is
the Sabbath day. But for Christians, we believe in the new covenant instituted
by Christ. For us, the first day of the week, symbolic of the new creation
-- the resurrection -- is the day that we keep holy.
And how do we keep it holy? By resting from our everyday labors
and worshiping God together as a community of faith. That's right -- we
go to church! We attend mass together and celebrate as a community. We
take one hour out of the 168-hour week in order to thank our Father for
all that he has given us. Seems like a tiny thing when you look at it
that way.
Putting It To Rest
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."
(Mark 2:27-28)
When we choose not to attend Mass on Sunday, we are committing a grave
sin. Maybe it's hard for many parents to talk about because they don't
quite understand it themselves. Perhaps they don't realize that sharing
the Eucharist with the community at Mass is way we show our commitment
to Jesus and our unity with His Church. It's possible that they don't
realize that when we don't go to Mass on Sunday, we are showing the
opposite.
The Sabbath was made for us so that we could benefit from resting and
worshipping -- but there is more than one way we can worship. In addition
to attending Mass, we can perform Christian works of mercy. We can help
the poor, who may have no choice but to work on Sunday. We can visit the
sick or shut-in, or volunteer to help any number of charitable programs.
We can also spend time with our families. You remember them, don't you?
Those people you live with, but rarely see as you all scurry from place
to place throughout the week? Spend some time with them. Do something
nice for them. Jesus said that whatever we do to someone else, we do to
him. So do nice things to Jesus by being kind to your family.
In fact, why not start by going to mass with your family. Then, your parents
won't have to get their blood pressure up worrying about discussing the
Third Commandment!
Life Applications:
When you don't attend mass, what are your reasons?
Do you enjoy mass? If not, what is it that you don't like? Can you change
it?
What other things could you do to "worship" God on Sundays?
FAITHteen Home | About FAITHteen | FAITH Magazine | Sign-up for FAITHteen
[ Premiere
Issue | Issue
#2 | Issue #3
| Issue #4 |
Issue #5 | Issue
#6 ]
[ Issue #7 |
Issue #8 | Issue
#9 | Issue #10
| Issue #11
| Issue #12
| Issue#13 |
Issue#14 ]