Dear Christian friends:

Sunday is the most important day of the week for Christians. Many Christians do not work on Sunday and go to church. After church they rest or visit friends or go on a trip or some kind of sport. Some must work on Sunday, and they do not go to church. Is it wrong to work on Sunday? Some answer, "Yes," some say, "No!" Who is right? What is the right idea about Sunday?

In our text Jesus helps us to get the right idea about Sunday.

The Third Commandment says: "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy."

"Sabbath means rest. The Bible says God created the world in six days and the on the seventh day He rested and so God commanded Moses and the Israelites to not work on the seventh day, but rest. They were forbidden to gather wood for fire or to cook meals on the Sabbath Day. Today many Jews still keep the seventh day like that. The Seventh Day Adventist Church also go to church and rest on the 7th Day. They say we Lutherans are wrong and break the third Commandment because we do not rest on Saturday and we do not go to Church on Saturday. Are we Lutherans wrong? Why do we go to Church on Sunday and not Saturday?

God commanded Moses and the Israelites of the Old Testament times to keep the Sabbath laws and many other laws about eating and drinking (couldn't eat pork) and about animal offerings. These laws are called ceremonial laws, laws of prayer and worship and God had a good reason why He commanded Israel to obey them. Through these various worship laws God prophesied about Jesus who one day would come through these worship laws they could learn to believe and trust in the promised Savior. God intended these laws during B.C. times and not A.D. times. After Jesus was born and after He died for us God canceled these old worship laws. St. Paul writes in Colossians 2:16,17 "Let no man judge you about eating or drinking or about a holy day or of the Sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come (prophesy); but the body is of Christ (Jesus is the true Savior).

So God has not commanded us Christians to keep any day not Saturday or Sunday. We are free to choose any day. Why do we go to church on Sunday? Because the Christians, 12 apostles began that. Because Jesus arose from death on Sunday morning. Every Sunday they decided to gather and celebrate His death and resurrection and praise Him for such wonderful salvation.

So we go to church on Sunday, not because of laws, but because we want to. Freely we have decided that. Gladly we go to church on Sunday to worship and thank our wonderful God and Savior.

We do more then that on Sunday. Here in our text Jesus shows that the Jews thought they obeyed the Sabbath law if they rested and did nothing. Jesus here corrects their misunderstanding (relate incident in the text). Jesus worked on the Sabbath and showed mercy and helped the sick man.

So we should also do God's Word on Sunday. Jesus once said, "Blessed (happy) are they that hear the Word of God and keep it (do it)." And what does God's Word teach us to do? To love and help one another as Jesus here shows pity on the sick man and helps him.

Some people come to church and hear God's Word, but they never keep it and do or obey it. But they are proud like these Pharisees and think they are God's people. They go to church to show off and get praise for themselves. They do not go to church to praise God or to serve him or their brothers and sisters. Jesus said of these Pharisees that they loved their donkey and oxen more than they loved their brother, because they would help their ox which fell in the well on the Sabbath, but not help the sick man. When Jesus healed him on the Sabbath they were displeased.

Then Jesus also saw how they hurried to get the chief seats of honor at the dinner because they wanted the praise and honor of men. They did not humbly serve God and their brother. He told them they should be humble and then God would exalt and honor them. But if they exalt themselves proudly God would humble them.

If we don't want to go to church on Sunday, we show that we don't care about God and don't want to help our brother! Some Christians must work on Sunday: Police, Doctors, Firemen, Mothers, etc. That's not sin. But we should arrange time for them.

So we keep the spirit and idea of Sunday if we gladly go to church; hear God's Word and then do it. For God's Word teaches us that we are sinners and deserve no honor from God or man, but that He has pitied us and has forgiven all our sins in Jesus and calls us His sons. He highly, honors us!

So we should show mercy and forgive one another and help one another. That's the right way to keep Sunday.

Amen.