TGIF

Friday!

For most of us Friday cannot come quick enough. For many people “weekend” means being away from regular work. There was a time when weekends were not different from regular working days. People did not break from their daily works because Friday, Saturday, and Sunday came upon them. It was not until medieval times when the Church insisted on keeping Friday separate from all other days to remember the death of Jesus. Many Christians remembered the event by not eating meat in some countries. They chose to eat fish instead on Fridays. Sunday was celebrated as the reminder of the resurrection of Christ. Saturday was kept as Sabbath by few Christians, but did not become important for the majority of Christians.

The modern understanding of weekend originated from the practice of keeping Sabbath holy (holy as in setting it apart for sacred purpose). People of Israel, who practice Judaism, always kept Sabbath holy—Sabbath started at Sundown on Friday and ended at Sundown on Saturday. Christians practiced Sunday as their holy day from very early on.

Initially not all Christians could take Sunday off from work to keep it holy like the Jews. Many Christians were slaves in Roman Empire. Many would slip out from their daily duties on Sunday to gather together to worship and return back to do their work. In Book of Acts we read that Paul even went to riverside to find Christians gathering on Sundays.

When the Roman Empire became officially Christian and the Church had much influence, Sunday was declared and kept as the day of worship. The idea behind it was based on one of the Ten Commandments that Sabbath was to be kept holy and that no one ought to work as everyone was required to remember God’s love for all.

In the 20th century Canada, no one worked on Sundays. Everything was closed except churches for worship. This practice of keeping Sunday holy changed in the 1960s and 1970s as more and more shops, theatres, and restaurants began opening with the change of provincial laws. Now in the 21st century, it is not clear who is not open on Sunday. What this means is that we as a society is not resting and taking a day off as we used to. We have gotten away from the practice of keeping one day a week different from all other days to nourish our spiritual needs.

It takes a special understanding and courage to be different from our friends to keep one day open for sacred activities that would fill our souls. Once you decide to say that one day a week you will take time off to love God and others, you face challenges of not doing what you used to do. This is very difficult. It takes a discipline and effort.

I try my best to keep one day that is not filled with anything. On Tuesdays I go away from doing anything. This is not only to demonstrate that I am nourishing my personal need, but more importantly to learn and live out the faith. On this day, I try to love God and neighbours as best as I can. I do my best not to worry about doing things I usually do on regular work days.

Can you really take a day off and nourish your spirit and soul? Can you really live your faith out saying that one week day out of seven you will do what God asks of you—that is, not doing what you need to but simply be loved by God and others and love God and others? Try. Soon you will really look forward to that one day that is holy (different than all other days because you depend on God).