Why I Love Sunday

Safely through another week
God has brought us on our way;
Let us now a blessing seek,
Waiting in His courts today;
Day of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest.

While we pray for pardoning grace,
Through the dear Redeemer's name,
Show Thy reconciled face;
Take away our sin and shame;
From our earthly cares set free,
May we rest this day in Thee.

Here we come Thy Name to praise;
Let us feel Thy presence near;
May Thy glory meet our eyes
While we in Thy house appear;
Here afford us, Lord, a taste
Of our everlasting feast.

May Thy gospel's joyful sound
Conquer sinners, comfort saints;
May the fruits of grace abound,
Bring relief for all complaints;
Thus may all our Sabbaths prove,
Till we join the Church above.

~John Newton

It took some time, maturity, and certainly the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, but I can now say, with my whole heart, that Sunday--the Sabbath--is the day of all the week that is the best. It seems that among conservative Reformed Christians discussion of the Sabbath centers on what we may and may not do, and so some people make an issue of whether their families watch TV, change out of their "Sunday clothes," or go to restaurants. Among evangelical Christians, there doesn't seem to be any discussion at all. Christians attend Sunday morning services, which they perceive of as a fairly optional activity, and then the rest of the day is theirs to spend in activities that may or may not be focused on God and worship.

What I've come to learn, though, is to make a list of "can's" and "can'ts" or to ignore duty altogether is to miss the point, and it's also to miss a great blessing. My family's Sunday, with very little exception, looks like this:

*We go to Sunday morning worship, and, during the school year, Jonathan will attend catechism.
*We spend time with our family, either having coffee with Henry's family or lunch with my parents. We have coffee at Henry's mom's house, and we take turns having lunch at our house or at my parents'.
*We come home and read or take naps. I usually read something theologically oriented, like Modern Reformation magazine, Reformed Fellowship's The Outlook, or a book. I just started reading Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought by Stephen J. Nichols yesterday. I don't think that it's a moral requirement that I or anyone else read only theological works on Sunday. I enjoy reading theology, and reading about it on Sunday helps me keep my focus where it should be.
*We go to afternoon worship.
*We usually come home and have a light supper. Sometimes we invite people over. If we don't have company, Henry and I go for a walk or a bike ride, and then spend the evening reading some more. We often listen to music, or we tune in to the Whitehorse Inn, a Reformed radio program, at 9:00 pm.

Most people would view this as a somewhat boring day. Why would we waste a perfectly good day like this going to two church services and reading books when we could be shopping, eating out, or going to a movie? Our lives must be pretty dull if this is the best day of the week.

But this is where the proper understanding of the Sabbath--as a gift from God--makes all the difference. The Heidelberg Catechism doesn't give us a list of do's and don'ts, but it does explain that God's will for us in the fourth commandment includes the following: regularly attending the assembly of God's people to learn what God's Word teaches; to participate in the sacraments; to pray to God publicly; and to bring Christian offerings for the poor.

And so when we come to understand what Sabbath worship really involves, we understand that God is calling us--inviting us--to meet with Him and with His people. While in the Old Testament the Sabbath was a day that was regulated by do's and don'ts, in the New Testament, it is a day of privilege. We are again given the great blessing of hearing the Word of life proclaimed, of being reminded by word and sign that although we are completely unworthy, God, the creator of heaven and earth, meets with us. He reminds us through His ministers that we are sinners who cannot possibly do anything by ourselves to please Him, to restore the relationship that has been broken. But He also reminds us that now a righteousness from heaven has been revealed, and we need only look to the cross to know that He has provided
life and hope for all those who believe.

We meet together with God's people, with those He has chosen to be members of His body. Unlike earthly organizations, which we join because we choose to, because we have something in common with the other members, God has called us to be living members of His church, so that when we meet together with God on Sunday, we are also meeting with the brothers and sisters that He has chosen for us, those with whom He has made us one.

I like the last part of the catechism answer regarding the Sabbath: "Every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath." God is giving us a little taste, here on earth, of what our eternal Sabbath will be like.

I know that I've made the mistake in the past of viewing the Sabbath as a burdensome law, not a gift of God's grace. And when I've made that error, indeed, Sunday becomes an annoyance. I've done my duty by attending a service, and having done it, the rest of Sunday becomes what we've come to describe as a "me day." But since I've learned to think "right side up" about the Sabbath, I understand that this day is God's gracious provision for me, a day of rest in which I stop working and focus on Him and His mercy to me. It has become the best day of the week--a day in which I am reminded that I need not work to gain God's favor. In fact, no work of mine could gain His favor. And so I rest from the labors of the week so that I am not distracted from remembering that as God rested after creation, I rest too. I am reminded to come to Christ, who makes our burdens light and gives us rest--now and eternally. And that makes for a more exciting day than any shopping expedition, restaurant experience, or day at the beach could ever give.