{"id":2649,"date":"2013-08-09T01:12:25","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T23:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.theotokos.co.za\/?p=2649"},"modified":"2020-09-13T10:36:07","modified_gmt":"2020-09-13T08:36:07","slug":"2649","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.theotokos.co.za\/?p=2649","title":{"rendered":"What Catholics Believe – Sunday observance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Resurrection of Christ<\/p><\/div>\n

This post forms part of the What Catholics Believe series<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Catholics (and most other Christians) believe Sunday is a special day to be celebrated, because it is the day Jesus rose from the dead.<\/p>\n

The Jews kept the Sabbath on Saturday, and this is reflected in the 10 Commandments.\u00a0 However, only the moral code<\/a> of the Old Testament is applicable to Christians – we don’t need to sacrifice animals, keep Passover, Yom Kippur, or the Sabbath, and we are free from the dietary restrictions as well.<\/p>\n

St Paul explicitly stated that the Sabbath is not necessary for Christians – Col 2:14-17<\/a>, Gal 4:10-11<\/a>.\u00a0 He said that whichever day we keep, we honour God by doing so – Romans 14:5-6<\/a>.\u00a0 The same passage in Romans permits us to eat whatever we wish – obviously within reason.<\/p>\n

The 10 Commandments were the words of the Old Covenant (Deut 4:13, Exod 34:28) and the Sabbath was its sign (Exod 31:13-18, Lev 24:8), and the Old Covenant pointed to a better New Covenant.\u00a0 The mediators of the Old Covenant were Moses and the Levitical priesthood.<\/p>\n

The New Covenant law is greater (cf. the Sermon on the Mount) than the Old Covenant law.\u00a0 It has Jesus himself as its (our) mediator.\u00a0 The New Covenant is Christ’s blood shed for as at Calvary – Luke 22:20 [KJV] “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0 Every Sunday, celebrating the Resurrection of Christ, we take part in the New Covenant.<\/p>\n

Just as the Sabbath looked back to the old creation that turned to sin, and also to the exodus from Egypt as a symbol of our freedom from slavery to sin, so Sunday looks to the new creation that we become in Christ, who freed us from slavery to sin in a far more fundamental way than the exodus.\u00a0 As we say at Mass, “Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life: Lord Jesus, come in glory!<\/span>”<\/p>\n

But Jesus kept the Sabbath!\u00a0 Why don’t we follow his example?<\/p>\n

Well, not everything Jesus did is applicable under the New Covenant.\u00a0 Remember, Jesus lived under the Old Covenant, and obeyed the Old Covenant law perfectly.\u00a0 If we had to do everything Jesus did, we would have the following list to comply with:<\/p>\n

Keep the Passover (lamb and all) \u2013 Luke 2:41-42, Luke 22:8, Matt 26:17-19
\nKeep the Feast of Tabernacles \u2013 John 7
\nKeep Hannukah \u2013 John 10:22
\nBe circumcised \u2013 Luke 2:21
\nSacrifice birds \u2013 Matt 8:4 \u2013 here Jesus commanded a man to go and offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded \u2013 see Leviticus 14, where God tells Moses how do offer such a sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Clearly Jesus lived under the Old Covenant, and not everything he did is applicable to us.<\/p>\n

So when did Sunday observance begin?<\/p>\n

The first evidence of Sunday observance by Christians can be found in the Bible – Acts 20:7<\/a> as a single event, and 1 Cor 16:2<\/a> as a repeating event.<\/p>\n

Several important texts highlight the relevance of Sunday for Christians, which, although not an explicit command, nevertheless points to Sunday’s importance given the lack need to keep Saturday holy.\u00a0 Bob Stanley has them listed on his page “Sabbath or Sunday?<\/a>“, and I’ve quoted his list here –<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, Lk 24:1-12<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Christ appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and celebrated the Eucharist on Sunday, Lk 24:13<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Jesus appeared to the disciples behind closed doors, Jn 20:19<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Jesus appeared to the disciples with Thomas one week later, Jn 20:26 NAB<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Jesus opened the minds of the Apostles to the Scriptures, Lk 24:45<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. The Apostles received their ‘Great Commission’ to go and teach all nations, Mt 28:1-20.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. The Apostles were given the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive sins, Jn 20:19-23.<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Jesus told the Apostles to wait in the city until they were to be clothed with power from on high, Lk 24:49.<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. On the seventh Sunday after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, Acts 2:1-4.<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Immediately after receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter gave a powerful address on the Gospel resulting in 3000 conversions, Acts 2:41.<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. The Apostles met for the Holy Eucharist on the ‘first’ day, Acts 20:7.<\/span><\/li>\n
  12. The Apostles set the ‘first’ day of the week for the Churches to take up the collections, 1Cor 16:1-2. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The early Christians recorded in their writings that they kept Sunday, and not the Sabbath in the way of the Jews.\u00a0 Three of the earliest records of Sunday observance after the New Testament are:<\/p>\n

    Ignatius of Antioch, 107 AD: let every<\/span><\/em> f<\/span>riend<\/span> of Christ keep the Lord\u2019s Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days of the week.<\/span><\/em>
    \n– Epistle to the Magnesians, chp 9. Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, pg. 62-63.<\/p>\n

    The Epistle of Barnabas, 70-120 AD: Wherefore we Christians keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven.<\/span><\/em>
    \n– The Epistle of Barnabas, section 15, 100 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, pg. 147<\/p>\n

    Justin Martyr, 150 AD: But Sunday is the day on which we hold our common assembly, because it is the first day of the week and Jesus our saviour on the same day rose from the dead.<\/span><\/em>
    \n– First apology of Justin, Ch 68<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    See more quotes from the early Christians here.<\/a><\/p>\n

    The history of Sunday observance among Christians is clear – Sabbath keeping stopped, and Sunday observance began with the earliest of Christians.\u00a0 Exactly how it was observed by Christians has changed with time.\u00a0 Early on there was less focus on resting from work.\u00a0 The focus was on gathering together for the Eucharist.\u00a0 However, the Eucharist was celebrated daily – and still is in Catholic churches around the world.\u00a0 There probably isn’t a moment of the day when, somewhere, the Mass is not being said.\u00a0 That means that there is also Mass on Saturday.\u00a0 In the early Church, many Christians had a special fast on Saturdays, because it was the day on which Jesus was in the tomb.\u00a0 Socrates’ Ecclesiastical History records some of the variations on how the Sabbath fast was practised<\/a>, or not practised.\u00a0 This passage is often misquoted by Adventists and other Sabbath keepers as if it supported Christian Sabbath observance in the Jewish way.\u00a0 But Socrates is clear that the Christians believed that we were not bound to the Sabbath, and such variation therefore was permitted and tolerated.\u00a0 Later, however, in keeping with Matt 16:19 and 18:18, for our benefit the Church laid down specific guidelines on how to observe Sunday.\u00a0 Even so, today there are still a wide variety of practices between all the different rites of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and some still have the Sabbath fast.\u00a0 However, none of them teach that we are bound to the Old Covenant Sabbath as taught by Adventists.<\/p>\n

    Official Catholic teaching is often misrepresented by Adventists, who need to have the papacy and\/or the Catholic Church held responsible for changing the law of God.\u00a0 This is one of the most foundational teachings of their denomination, and if it were to collapse they would lose a significant piece of what makes them unique.\u00a0 It would mean their prophetess, Ellen White, had failed.\u00a0 Adventist identity depends, to a large extent, on their demonising the Catholic Church.\u00a0 This makes it hard to reach them when they come preaching their doctrines.<\/p>\n

    There are many examples on the internet of this sort of misrepresentation.\u00a0 I’ve dealt with such cases here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a>.\u00a0 In short, they take statements by Catholics and remove all context, and use them to pretend that the Catholic Church acknowledges that they changed the Sabbath to Sunday apart from any decisions by the Apostles.\u00a0 They rarely actually acknowledge official Catholic teaching.<\/p>\n

    For example, they will quote the Catechism of the Council of Trent<\/a>, which states:<\/p>\n

    But the Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \"The<\/a>

    The Synaxis of the holy and the most praiseworthy Twelve Apostles<\/p><\/div>\n

    What does that mean to Catholics?\u00a0 I’ve gone into some more detail here<\/a>, but in short, it goes like this:<\/p>\n

    Catholics believe that the Catholic Church is the original Church established by Jesus and led by the Apostles.\u00a0 Therefore, to Catholics, the Apostles themselves where Catholic.\u00a0 To Catholics, if the Apostles did something, then we can say that the Catholic Church did that thing.\u00a0 Most Protestants would disagree, but please try to understand how we talk.\u00a0 All I ask is that when you read Catholic texts written by Catholics, you try to understand what we are saying, instead of applying your own definitions for these words to something we have written.<\/p>\n

    So, when the Catechism of the Council of Trent states “But the Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday<\/em><\/span>\u201d, it could mean 1) the Catholic Church after the Apostles began Sunday observance, or 2) it could mean that the Catholic Church in the persons of the Apostles began Sunday observance.<\/p>\n

    Which one is it?\u00a0 Adventists will only quote the one sentence.\u00a0 However, several paragraphs previously, what the Catechism means is clearly explained:<\/p>\n

    The Jewish Sabbath Changed To Sunday By The Apostles<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Apostles therefore resolved to consecrate the first day of the week to the divine worship, and called it the Lord\u2019s day. St. John in the Apocalypse makes mention of the Lord\u2019s day; and the Apostle commands collections to be made on the first day of the week, that is, according to the interpretation of St. Chrysostom, on the Lord\u2019s day. From all this we learn that even then the Lord\u2019s day was kept holy in the Church.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    So, an official statement from the Catholic Church – we believe the Apostles made the change.\u00a0 Any paragraph later on in the text needs to take that into account.\u00a0 Unfortunately Adventists are often not willing to acknowledge that – you can see the vacillations of one commentator on my blog here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Another official Catholic source is Pope John Paul II<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    Dies Domini, 21<\/a>: It was for this reason that, from Apostolic times, \u201cthe first day after the Sabbath\u201d, the first day of the week, began to shape the rhythm of life for Christ\u2019s disciples (cf. 1 Cor 16:2). \u201cThe first day after the Sabbath\u201d was also the day upon which the faithful of Troas were gathered \u201cfor the breaking of bread\u201d, when Paul bade them farewell and miraculously restored the young Eutychus to life (cf. Acts 20:7-12). The Book of Revelation gives evidence of the practice of calling the first day of the week \u201cthe Lord\u2019s Day\u201d (1:10). This would now be a characteristic distinguishing Christians from the world around them. As early as the beginning of the second century, it was noted by Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, in his report on the Christian practice \u201cof gathering together on a set day before sunrise and singing among themselves a hymn to Christ as to a god\u201d.(19) And when Christians spoke of the \u201cLord\u2019s Day\u201d, they did so giving to this term the full sense of the Easter proclamation: \u201cJesus Christ is Lord\u201d (Phil 2:11; cf. Acts 2:36; 1 Cor 12:3). Thus Christ was given the same title which the Septuagint used to translate what in the revelation of the Old Testament was the unutterable name of God: YHWH.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \"Pope<\/a>

    Pope St Sylvester I<\/p><\/div>\n

    Lastly, Adventists turn to Pope Sylvester I, and claim that he fulfills Ellen White’s claim that a pope changed the Sabbath to Sunday.\u00a0 I’ve dealt with that claim in more detail here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a>, but in short what happened is this:<\/p>\n

    The local Council of Laodicea<\/a> decreed the following:<\/p>\n

    Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.<\/span> (Canon 29)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    It is uncertain whether Pope Sylvester was even involved.\u00a0 It is uncertain whether or not the council was held during his lifetime, and even if it was, it is uncertain whether or not he was involved with the council.<\/p>\n

    What the council did was simply to recommend resting, if possible, on Sunday, and condemned the Judaisers who wanted to rest on Saturday.\u00a0 It is far from clear whether or not these particular people felt bound to the Sabbath as a biblical command; they were likely amongst those discussed by Socrates, which I mentioned above.\u00a0 It was simply a case of putting a local dispute to rest.\u00a0 Sunday observance was well established at the time, as the Christian writers of the era attest – going back to the beginning, Christian writers had referred to Sunday as the Lord’s Day.<\/p>\n

    So, to sum up, we have seen what the official teaching of the Catholic Church is regarding the origins of Sunday observance.\u00a0 We have seen some of the biblical evidence for Sunday observance and against the idea that the Sabbath is a biblical requirement for Christians, and we have seen that the early Christians confirmed in their own words that they kept Sunday.<\/p>\n

    Further material on this topic:<\/p>\n