T h e s ec o n d i n d i c a t i o n i s f o u n d i n 1 One last reason for selecting the first day of

Corinthians 16:2. St. Paul here refers to the the week, Sunday, instead of the last day,
co l l ec t i o n f o r t h e po or Ch ri s t i an s of the Sabbath or Saturday, was to distinguish
Palestine. It is that on this day each week the the Christians from the Jews, and
faithful gathered for their religious unions Christianity from the religion of Moses. The
and the celebration of the Lord's Supper. St. Je w i s h h o l y d a y w a s t h e S a b b a t h o r
Luke in the Acts says that the assembly at Saturday. The Christians chose Sunday
which Paul celebrated the Lord's Supper, under the leadership of our Lord's official
gathered on the first day of the week. St. spokesmen, the Apostles, as their weekly
Luke was not interested in the day of the day of prayer and worship Did Jesus Observe
week for its own sake, nor was he concerned
with merely giving a calendar date. He The conclusion is fully justified, therefore, The Sabbath?
frequently mentions that Paul and the other in view of the indications already given that
missionaries went to the synagogue on the the first day of the week or Sunday has
St. Paul tells us God "sent forth His Son, born
Sabbath, because this was a certain way of already becom e the holy day of the
of a woman, born under the law" (Gal. 4:4).
securing a good-sized audience to listen to Christians, that the Apostles had already
This means that Jesus chose to make
their message. sanctioned the practice of keeping the first
Hims elf s ub ject t o th e l aw of Moses,
day of the week as the Lord's day or the holy
although He was an d remains forever
The Evangelists also note not once but day.
superior to all law.
several times that our Lord rose from the
dead on the first day of the week (Sunday). But little by little, under the guidance of the
The Old Testament contained prophecy, a
The reason for this was to show that He kept Apostles and the Holy Spirit, the Christians
moral and a ceremonial or ritual code. Christ
His promise to rise on the third day. But, came to realize that the new practices
realized the prop het ic part of the Old
there was another reason. It was to mark the and t h e n e w o b s e r v a n c e s c o n t a i n e d
Testament. The moral code was imperfect;
first day of the week as especially sacred. It a n d improved on all that was good in the
C h r i s t b r o u g h t i t t o p e r f ec t i o n . T h e
was the day of the Lord's greatest triumph, old religion. Thus the new rite of
ceremonial part of the law, which prescribed
His resurrection. Baptism succeeded circumcision. To the
circumcision, ablutions, and so forth, and
bloody sacrifices of the old law
forbade certain foods as unclean or defiling,
There is still another reason why the first succeeded the sacrifice of Calvary, to be
was a foreshadowing of more perfect things
day of the week was chosen as the memorialized and represented in the rite of
to come.
Christians' distinctive holy day. The first the Lord's Supper. And so, little by little,
day, or Sunday, was the day on which the the first day of the week, Sunday, was The Law of Moses remains in the Christian
Christian Church was officially inaugurated by substituted for the Sabbath as the day for law. But in another sense the Old Law
the coming of the Holy Spirit and the general worship and rest. ceases to be. This is the teaching of St. Paul.
abundant outpouring of His graces and fruits He unmistakably expresses it in the
on the Apostles. So great were the results of following words: "But now that faith has
Courtesy of Catholic Information Network (CIN)
this outpouring that the Apostles were come, we are no longer under a custodian
instantly transformed into giants of courage. (The Law)" (Gal. 3:22-25). When the law
The day, Pentecost, is often referred to as Pope John Paul II Society of Evangelists had accomplished that duty, it ceased to be;
the birthday of the Church. It was a Sunday. P.O. Box 5584, Bakersfield, California 93388 its work was done, its usefulness ended. In
E-mail: info@pjpiisoe.org Phone: 661 393-3239
wwwpjpiisoe.org Pamphlet 032
other words, the law of Moses gives place to
the law of Christ. This repeal of the law of embarrassing question of St. Paul: "But now by Jesus on the Sabbath. In each case the
Moses included the Sabbath. "Therefore let no that you have come to know God, or Pharisees took exception to His actions,
one pass judgment on you in questions of rather to be known by God, how can you because they were performed on the
food and drink or with regard to a festival or a turn back again to the weak and beggarly Sabbath. From these examples, it can be
new moon or a Sabbath. These are only a elemental spirits, whose slaves you want to seen how Jesus began to transform and
shadow of what is to come; but the be once more?" (Gal. 4:9). change the Sabbath law.
substance belongs to Christ" (Col. 2:16-17).
Our Lord's actions indicate what He meant
The Epistle to the Hebrews says of the Old
Clearly then the Law of Moses as such has when He said that He had come to fulfill the
been abrogated by Christ according to the law of Moses. He frequently came into Covenant: "In speaking of a new covenant
teaching of the Apostle Paul. With this conflict with the Jewish doctors of the law in He treats the first as obsolete. And what is
teaching the rest of the Apostles agreed. regard to the Sabbath. He would have no becoming obsolete and growing old is ready
Peter had been granted a special vision in part of the narrow, rigorist interpretation of to vanish away" (Heb. 8:13). (See also
which it was made known to him that the the Sabbath rest. The Master stated related passages: Heb. 7:18, 8:6-7, 10:11)
law of Moses no longer was binding, and the principle that "the Sabbath was It was because of the imperfection of the
this view was solemnly ratified by all the made for man, and not man for the Old Covenant, and its inability to take away
Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts Sabbath." This means that the Sabbath sin or bring anything to perfection, that
15:10). is not an end in itself, but a means to an Jesus came to establish the New Covenant.
end. Jesus made the most significant "Therefore he (Christ) is the mediator of the
It should not be thought, however, that the statement: "The Son of Man is Lord even of New Covenant" (Heb. 9:15).
moral law, contained in the Law of Moses, the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28). This implies
has lost its binding force. The moral element much more than appears on the surface. The St. Paul wrote to the Colossians: "Let no one
of the law is definitely sanctified by Christ; but Sabbath law was given by God through pass judgment on you . . . with regard to . .
it is no longer the Law of Moses; it is the law Moses. When the Lord says that He is the . a Sabbath" (Col. 2:16). Christ inaugurated
of Christ, and from Him has its obliging force. Master of the Sabbath, He means that He is a new holy day, or Lord's Day. There are
The part of the Sabbath law which binds superior to the law. He can be superior t o evidences in the New Testament of the
us to acknowledge God, and set aside some the law, which God Himself has beginning of the substitution of the first day
time for His worship is part of the moral promulgated, only if He is the equal of God. of the week (Sunday) for the Sabbath
law, but that part which specifies the Sabbath Jesus claimed to be just that. Accordingly (Saturday) as the day especially to be
as the Lord's Day, is part of the ceremonial He has full authority to interpret His own consecrated to God by prayer and worship.
law, which no longer binds. The duty of law, to modify it, to apply it or to suspend
acknowledging the Creator by appropriate and abrogate it, should He choose to do so. The initial indication that the first day was
acts of worship is unalterable. There are several accounts of cures effected observed and made holy in a special way is
by Jesus on the Sabbath. In each case the found in Acts 20:7. "On the first day of the
Circumcision and all such ritual Pharisees took exception to His actions, week, when we were gathered together to
observances, including the observance of the b ec a u s e t h ey w er e p er f o rm ed o n break bread, Paul talked with them." Here
Sabbath as the day to be held especially t h e Sabbath. From these examples, it we note the elements of Sunday worship
"holy to the Lord," are things of the past. To can be seen how Jesus began to as it is followed in the Church to this day:
insist on returning to the Sabbath of the Old transform and change the Sabbath law. 1) the breaking of bread, which designates
Testament and make it binding on Christians the celebration of the Lord's Supper
would be to expose oneself to the There are several accounts of cures effected (Catholics call it the Mass); 2) the sermon.