REFLECTIONS TODAY

The Hebrew shabbath means to cease or to rest. The Sabbath day commemorated God’s day of rest after he finished the work of creation. It was a sign of the covenant between God and his people. “Remember the Sabbath day—keep it holy,” God commanded his people (Ex 20:8). And the Israelites observed it from generation to generation, seeing it as a special gift from the Lord. However, some Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time made many unnecessary rules about the Sabbath. They “fenced” it with prohibitions to safeguard its holiness. They decided how far people could walk, what kind of knots they could tie, and so forth. In the Gospel, when certain Pharisees criticize Jesus allowing his disciples to pick heads of grain which they say is prohibited on the Sabbath, Jesus reminds them that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of man. 

Now the “Sabbath” for Christians commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The “Lord’s Day” is now the first day of the week—Sunday— when Jesus rose triumphant from the tomb, conquering the last enemy: death. It is a holy day ordained by God also for believers to rest from their labors and worship him. 

“The sabbath was made for man” (v 27). The purpose of the Sabbath is to give people a certain day of the week on which to direct their thoughts and actions toward God. It is not a day merely to rest from work. It is a sacred day to be spent in worship and reverence. As people rest from their usual daily activities, their minds are freed to ponder on spiritual matters. On this day they renew their relationship with the Lord and feed their souls on the things of the Spirit.

First Reading • Heb 6:10-20 

Brothers and sisters: For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises. 

When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, and said, I will indeed bless you and multiply you. And so, after patient waiting, he obtained the promise. Now, men swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument. So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath, so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2025,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.