TUESDAY JANUARY 16, 2024
TUESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME B
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Mark 2:23-28
RESPECTING THE LORD’S DAY
During his pontificate, Pope John Paul 11 promulgated an Apostolic Letter on July 30 1998 titled Dies Domini. In this letter the Pope addresses Catholics to rediscover the meaning of the Lord’s day and to keep the Lord’s Day holy and properly. For it is becoming increasingly disturbing that the Lord’s Day is being flouted, turned into ordinary day without meaning and significance again.
First, John Paul 11 identified the Lord’s day as Sunday and states for Catholics what actually should be done, what it means and how it must be observed.
The same situation was found in the time of Jesus, though with a different nuance. That the interpretation of the sabbath day was becoming legalistic during the time of Jesus. That it became an instrument of strangulating and enslavement for the people. The Pharisees and the religious leaders employed the sabbath as much to intimidate the people turning it into a day of slavery and no more a day for the worship of God and enhancement of life. And they even accused Jesus severally of flouting the sabbath day rules and doing works on that day. While Jesus tried to prove to them that they were wrong and need to correct their notion of what the sabbath signifies for us.
Scrupulosity and legalism can equally be underlining our idea of the sabbath. That was why Pope John Paul 11 details for us in this Apostolic Letter the entire meaning, significance and idea of what the sabbath represents for us. In the five chapters of the work, saint John Paul 11, states that the Lord’s Day is a day to celebrate the Creator of all things, a day of remembering the salvific works of our redemption, as we recall the many works of saving us accomplished by Jesus Christ through his death, resurrection, ascension and descent of the Holy Spirit. And these informed that Sunday become the actual sabbath since all these special events took place on that Sunday.
Central to it, is therefore a celebration of the Eucharistic community which is paramount and necessary for the accomplishment of the Day of the Lord. It is more of remembering, recalling, reenacting our salvation in Christ. And central to all these is the Eucharistic celebration, which was transmitted to us and commanded us to celebrate as a memorial of his saving act. It becomes an obligation to participate in this and share in the celebration.
The Sunday obligation therefore of attending and receiving the Eucharist and being part of the Eucharistic community is put before us as essential to the observance of the day of the Lord. Since such celebration actualizes the full joy of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of the Sabbath. But it is also a day of rest for humanity and a day of solidarity for humanity too. It means we must care for the downtrodden, the disadvantaged, those with situations that dehumanizes them.
The day of the Lord is a day of freedom and a recall of our salvation. Let us respect it and honour it with our service to God and to humanity.
Just as Samuel was instructed in the first reading to anoint David as King over Israel, we must be sure that the rejection of Saul as king was done because of his disobedience to the ordinance of God. And the choice of David in preference to his other brothers was because he was caring, courageous, hardworking and also other attributes that endeared him to God. For God sees the heart but men see only the externals. We must be open to the ordinances of our God and apply ourselves to works that bring life and sustenance of life to be counted as people of God.
Heavenly Father, on the Lord’s Day we are reminded to reflect on our salvation and celebrate our freedom in Christ with the intention of becoming better and closer to you in the service of God and humanity. Grant that we may understand our role on the sabbath, accomplish our tasks well, live to help others in needs and may our worship be accepted, and your blessing come upon us in its richness through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
