Regular readers of this blog know that I have half seriously/half humorously visited the topic of keeping the Lord’s Day before. While I do have some fun with this topic, our family does try to keep in mind that this is a day set aside for God. However it sometimes seems to be a far cry from a “day of rest” when we have five people all going in four different directions on a Sunday evening: our daughter to worship and my wife and I to our small group Bible study, while still needing to get the boys to their respective small group studies. And while we may spend time on Sunday afternoons getting odd jobs done around the house, we do try not to go shopping or go out to eat. And yes, like yesterday when I sat down and watched a bit of an MLS game and part of the Canada-Honduras soccer match, we do sometimes relax in front of the television, usually watching sports.
One thing that is interesting to note about the commandment to set a day apart for God is that it is the longest of the commandments. It gives not just the command that nobody and no animal in the household is to do work, but also the rational that God worked for six days and rested on the seventh. Any polity wonk would think that with that much documentation serious consideration should be given to it.
While I would say that our family is respectful but not legalistic about the Lord’s Day, an interesting poll and discussion has begun over on the PuritanBoard about “Is watching NFL Football a violation of the 4th commandment?” At the moment in the poll the results are running 20-8 that it is a violation.
But what is more interesting is looking at the discussion. This is not a simple yes/no question as the various issues brought up in the discussion address. There are so many subtleties and aspects that it would make a group of rabbis debating the law proud. Such issues as…
Is it a violation of the sabbath just because of what I do or also because those I am watching are working?
Is it a violation if I record the game on Sunday but watch it another day?
Is it a violation if I recorded it on Saturday and watch it on Sunday?
Does the Lord’s Day begin and end at midnight or at sunset and if it is that latter can I watch the late game?
Is participating in a PuritanBoard discussion work and so should PuritanBoard be shut down on the Lord’s Day?
So we Presbyterian and Reformed hold this, like other things, in the tension of taking God’s Word seriously while still being gracious and not legalistic about the commandments.
I think that since the commandment to keep holy the Lord’s day was given to the Jews of the OT, and much amplified by them and their descendants, we ought to look at it from their perspective.
I’ll start at the end.
In one of his books, Feynman writes of being asked if electricity is fire. He thought that was a good question, from the standpoint of physics. It turned out that all they really wanted to do is find out if it’s fire, because if it is, you can’t use it on the Sabbath.
I recall that our Pilgeim forefathers were pretty strict about Sunday observance (the stocks were never always empty), and that “blue laws” hold here in the (mostly Southern) states to this day. In Utah, liquor stores and car lots are closed on Sundays.
Now if we can just get everybody to agree which day the Sabbath falls on…..