The Sabbath, Friday evening through Saturday evening concludes with a havdalah service. During the Sabbath we should not work. This technically means not to light a fire, turn on a light, cook, drive, turn on a television, etc. The Torah is quite clear about these things (the definition of work) and the rabbis explicated it through the Talmud. Modern people have stretched and wiggled and rationalized so that honoring Shabbot is little more than a thoughtful recognition or a day off. Too bad really. We should through our bodies honor God. Small sacrifice.

Be well.

Wow . . . And I thought I struggled with legalism . . .

My earlier reply was from an orthodox Jewish point of view. My own is simple: as to how to keep it holy I personally recognize no difference between any day, all days are holy. There are no differences between the sacred and the profane: the entire universe is God and thus, is comprised of Buddha-nature. So, to keep it holy means to keep myself, therefore the universe, holy. How? Cease doing evil, do good, and bring about good for all beings.

The second part of your question is a bit more challenging. First, I do not think it wise or appropriate to assume that others in your workplace or other workplaces are Christian and celebrate Shabbot apart from its original day. Best to take good care of our own house. And through such caring, model holiness.

Be well.

I try to avoid doing anything that would force others to work ona day I consider a day of rest and worship. Therefore, no shopping, movies, eating out etc etc. Exceptions....labor, emergencies etc. Housework is another story. The concept is that you shoudl do all you need to BEFORE the sabbath to avoid working that day. I still cook and do housework even though I could avoid it.

As always QOD you have another great question. The first thing we need to remember is that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

It was instituted for rest and relief for us. The OT Sabbath was given for their sakes. Therefore any action that provides rest, relief and general well being was permissable. Jesus ran into (as you know) all sorts of head ons with the Pharisees who wanted only to heap burdens on the people turning a good day into a day of burden with all sorts of rules attached. They were very legalistic as are some people even today. Jesus walked in on the scene and challenged their "laws." Jesus seems to choose the Sabbath Day purposely for healing services because such actions honored that day.

Having said that, all of the OT points to Christ. In the NT Christ said he was now our rest. "Come to me all who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest." Jesus came to fulfill the law which he did in his death, burial and resurrection. He is declared as fulfillment of scripture.

Paul says through him "we have been released from the law" which once "bound us." (Rom 7:6) and seeking to establish his own rightwousness (Rom 10:3) had only brought Paul into opposition of God rather than into peace with God.

He also says that the law "was our custodian until Christ came." (Gal 3:24). Its temporary function has now been accomplished and Christ is the end or the fulfillment of the law.

Now this is most important. The command to observe the Sabbath is the only one of the 10 commandments NOT even repeated after Pentecost.

Paul said to the Colosse believers who were asking the same question as you....

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days; which are a SHADOW of things to come; but the BODY is of Christ." Col 2:16

The OT law was but a shadow of the real thing which was to come...Jesus.

I think we have a good example in the NT Christians. They met on the First Day of the Week (Sunday) to praise and worship God and edify and encourage each other.

As the Sabbath was a celebration of creation so too is Sunday a celebration of the resurrection/redemption of Christ. He is our Sabbath rest. How we celebrate is a personal thing. It's not cut and dried. Today, as Christians, every day should be a Holy Day as he said in all we do we should be giving glory to God. Meeting once a week for a worship service definitely gives glory to God. If you have to work, don't fret about it, make sure you do so giving glory to God that day. If at all possible yes, it would be nice to take Sunday off because that is the normal day to worship God as a family but if not, give the day to God even so.

Some of this may be addressed better in depth in my upcoming blog "It is Finished." I should be able to put that out tomorrow as I'm way too beat tonight. I would recommend reading Romans 7-10 especially 10:4. Gotta go get some rest myself!!

When did I do that?

You have to remember I'm a Christian and as one I read the NT and it's all recorded therein. I'm not making anything up here. The burdens put on the people were well known and written about. I have many books written by Abraham Eldersheim. Are you familiar with him?



Rules and laws are made for lawbreakers not for the law abiding. When we love someone we want to obey them, the laws are there but are not needed. We obey out of love, not law. I love my husband. I don't need a law to tell me not to commit adultery. It's the same with God. When we love God, we follow him with our hearts, not law. Consider this from your own OT:

"I hate, I despise your feasts days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Thoughy you offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take away from me the noise of your songs for I will not hear the melody of your violins. But let judgment run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream." Amos 5:21-24

God looks at the heart. It's all about the internal. It's not about the externals. The Rabbi's of Jesus' day were all about the externals. Jesus was very harsh with them. He called them some not very nice names because he knew they were putting a heavy yoke on the people for gain. It was all about money, power, control. He even said "except your righteousness shall exceed the righeousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

How could this be? The Pharisees were considered very righteous. The Pharisess' righteousness was external only. While practice of religion was flawless, they had no love of God. Jesus knew what is in all men. God is the discerner of all hearts.

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, mine ears have you opened; burnt offering and sin offering have you not required.......I delight to do your will O my God; yes, your law is within my heart." Ps 40:6-8.



I believe that every letter of every word of the OT is vital and will be fulfilled completely. Jesus said himself...."Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets I am not come to destroy but to "fulfill."

So I'll take his word for it.

Be Well Sodaiho

Thank you for writing this Question of the Day. I'm late getting in and have seen that it is opening good discussion. I haven't read the entire thread and so some this may be repetitious.

These are good questions concerning the Third Commandment of Almighty God. Since this is a direct commandment of God, that tells us right there that we must honor it to its fullness. There is no getting around that we must obey the Commandments. Note the word “blessed” in v. 11. That means God ordained that this day should bring a blessing both to soul and body on those who keep it holy. There are 4 parts to the Commandment that should be considered in knowing what we are commanded. In a nutshell, we are commanded to keep Sundays holy by worshipping God (for me that’s by hearing Holy Mass) and resting from servile work that we may have the time and opportunity for prayer and gaining rest and refreshment for the coming workweek.


QofD POSTS: But it feels like a contradiction – hypocritical – to do these things that require others to work. My consumption causes others to break one of the Big Ten. I feel the need to refrain.

Good for you to recognize this “feeling’, this inner conscience. The 3rd Commandment is like the others in that it is a natural precept which is inescapably written on our hearts. The worship of God and the practice of religion which it comprises are precepts of the Natural Law. Nature itself prompts us to the worship of God and we can easily see this played as demonstrated by the fact that throughout the world people participate in the solemnities of religion and divine worship. So, just as nature requires time to be given to necessary functions of the body, like sleep, repose, etc.; nature also requires that time be devoted to the mind, to refresh itself by the contemplation of God. Although the law of nature prompts us to worship God, it fixes no particular time or day. This Commandment (V.11) does just that. It tells us the time that is set apart by God, the Creator, Himself. Now, that’s what I call AWESOME.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd Ed.-------

The Third Commandment recalls the holiness of the Sabbath. “The seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.” Ex. 31:15. God’s action is the model for human action. So, it doesn’t get any better or more clear than this. If God “rested” and was “refreshed” on the 7th day, we too are to rest and should let others, including animals,rest and be refreshed. So the Sabbath brings everyday work (not extraordinary work like firemen, police, etc.), to a halt and provides a respite. Look at it as a day of protest against servile work and the worship of money. Neh. 13:15-22; 2Chr. 36:21. The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the Sabbath law. But He never fails to respect the holiness of this day. St.Mark 1:21; St.John 9:16. He gives this law its authentic and authoritative interpretation: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” St.Mark 2:27. Christ declares the Sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing. St. Mark 3:4. The Sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God. St.Matt.12:5; St.John 7:23.


For Christians, the Jewish Sabbath changed to Sunday, the Lord’s Day by the Apostles. They consecrated the first day of the week to the divine worship of God and called it the Lord’s Day. It stands to reason that we cannot easily honor or worship God while occupied by worldly affairs, and so this certain, fixed time is set aside so that worship, prayer,piety and contemplation of God may be performed.

Another way we know the Lord’s Day is Sunday is because it’s the day of Christ’s Resurrection: the new creation. Jesus rose from the dead, “on the first day of the week.” St.Matt. 28:1; St.Mark 16:2; St.Luke 24:1; and St.John 20:1. Going back to Genesis and Creation, as on the day that light first shone on the world, so by the Resurrection of our Redeemer on the same day, and we are called out of darkness into light.


The word “Remember” is at the beginning of the Commandment. This is no small thing for if the faithful comply with it, then all will be disposed to observe with their whole heart the law of God during the rest of the week.

“Keep Holy” prove that the day is sacred to religion and set apart for works of piety and devotion to God. That means to the best of our ability a cessation of bodily labor, worldly affairs and from business. On Sundays,the Lord’s Day, we are to devote our whole being in a special manner to the worship and contemplation of God, in our thoughts, words and actions.


“Thou shalt do no work on it, says the Lord, nor thy son, daughter, servants, beast, nor stranger.....”
These words teach us to avoid whatever (all worldly) may interfere with the worship of God. As far as work is concerned, anything which draws the mind or body away from the contemplation of divine things or alienates us from God should be avoided. So, it’s not difficult to perceive that all servile works are forbidden, not because they are improper in themselves, (they aren’t), but because they withdraw our attention from God which is the great end of the Commandment.

I try to honor the Commandment to its fullest making Sunday a day of worship and rest. I even cook during the week meals leftover for Sunday. I do no house work whatsoever nor do I shop, even for groceries. After Mass, I read, relax, take a nap, spend time talking and visiting with my family, friends, and relatives. I refrain from reading and posting on JU in matters of controversy. The same with TV programs.

Christ is the truth they say - and the truth will set you free. Yet more often than not, in my days as a Christian, conversation would turn to a 'rule-based' topic such as this. I knew Christians who thought it wrong to lift a finger or turn a thought to anything that might be remotely described as 'work' on a Sunday; and others for whom it was one more day, except that on this day one 'went to Church' in order to clap and stamp and cry and wail in tongues. And having done that, they seemed to feel, they had discharged the obligations of their faith and were free to live for the rest of the week with no more than a passing nod to their religion.

If you're all so damn free in Christ why do you spend your time debating the endless legalities of the OT - which were prescribed to the ancient Israelites as dietary & hygenic provisions suitable to desert circumstances.

Rules are for 'law-breakers' are they? And are you not a 'law-breaker' KFC (or have you forgotten whichever passage it is that states that we all have sinned and fallen short?)

And as to how you keep the Sabbath holy... Do good to others and praise God, since it's justice and mercy that's required of the believer, not sacrifice. Or is that too simple and too lacking in 'legalism' for you all to deal with?

Christ is the truth and the truth will set you free.

Yes indeed. And you're all of you outstanding witnesses to the miraculous power of faith in your dead carpenter - since you are able to make towering mountains of anile argument appear from the slightest molehill of a cause.

Laws don't float around without a lawgiver. If nature has laws, they have been imposed by a lawgiver. All legislation supposes a legislator, ie the Ten Commandments are God's legislation. God has definite rights which no man is justified in ignoring.

Moreover, God definitely commands you to adore and serve Him. It is not enough to admit off hand that "there is God" or speak of God as though you believe He exists and then ignore His definite claims.

Like it or not, believe or not, we are all children before God and every knee will bow to Jesus. No one is above this or a privileged class...there are no exemptions before an Eternal and Omnipotent God.

We should keep holy the Sabbath and the Lord's day becasue it is the only fitting attitude of a creature and a sinner before ALmighty God. The Third Commandment is GOd telling us He does not wish our attention to be given wholly to other creatures or to ourselves while the Creator is ignored. With this Command we must acknowledge and love Him with all our being. We cannot dispense oursleves from this anymore than we can dispense children from their privilege and duty of honoring and respecting their parents.

Keeping the Sabbath holy essentially means that on this particular day, we must love God and that our love for God must overflow all the other days of the week upon other children of God.

God Himself is the One who authorized and specified this particular day and what it is to mean to us. Surely the One who is to be worshipped has the right to specify how and when He shall be worshipped. It is not the Third Suggestion.

Sincere love of God spells freedom, freedom from vice, from all injustice and want of charity which is love. There is no absolute freedom. We must want to be free from vice and subject to virtue....or free from virtue and subject to vice.

Conscious reverence for the authority of God certainly guides the conduct of doing right or doing good. To do right for right's sake pushes us back to doing right (obeying the Commandments) for the sake of the Supreme AUthor of as right. No one can do right for right's sake if he ignores God, for without God he cannot prove that what he thinks IS right or has any binding force at all.

I hope you will understand when I say the way of the world sometimes traps Christians and when that happens we must do the best that we can with those situations and try our best to reconcile our lives to God and not to man.


When my daughter was old enough to get summer jobs, I told her that she could not work on Sundays. So, she learned to fill in job applications stating her no Sunday work requirement. One restaurant hired her on this basis but tried to change that inferring that she would have to work on Sundays or lose her job. So I spoke to the manager and reminded her of the basis of employment, and that was the end of it. It wasn't long afterward that one employer told me that he hired my daughter because she had put that on her application. He figured that if she was willing to be up front, then she would be an honest person and that was one of the character traits he was most looking for.

"God rested"? Yes, for sure that's what the Bible says, no matter the translation! So we know that's what God meant as He is the Author and Creator so He was the only One there to know what He did and that "He rested" is how He reports it.

It comes down to how do we intepret that particular verse. The Catholic Church interprets it this way and see if it makes sense to you. Man requires rest after he has worked hard becasue he is tired...and God who made man knows this. Can God be tired? No, God, could create thousands of worlds without being tired. He's actually never tired. The words, "He rested" mean that after the sith day, after the creation of man, God created no new kind of being. He rested from this particular work, i.e. from creating.

Genesis tells us that God created the whole world, visible and invisible, material and spiritual, out of nothing by His Almighty will. His almighty power is manifested to us in creation. By His word, that is by His will, He called into existence the earth, moon, and the whole, to us, unmeasurable universe, with its millions and millions of heavenly bodies. "God spoke and they were made; He commanded and they were created." Psalm 32:9.

God 'rested on the seventh day" because His good work of creating the universe was finished and complete (but God never "rests" from the work of conservation and of natural and supernatural providence. ONe might say that He works unceasingly tending to the world and for the good of His creatures, for only He who called the world into existence can sustain and govern it. If Almighty God were to withdraw His hand from the world, at that moment, it would collapse and fall into ruin. Every day, every hour, every moment of life is a gift of Almighty God.

Check out Genesis and notice the order of Creation. With the creation of man, God's plan of creation was completed, and the great work of His creative love was crowned for man is the highest and most perfect of visible creatures. Then God rested and appointed the seventh day for man's rest in Him. On the Sabbath, man was to contemplate the wonders of Creation and to praise and thank God. The seventh day is also called "the Lord's Day" which is set apart for service and worship of God. On this day, as God Himself did, we are to put aside all worldly business and think about our eternal souls and their welfare for in God alone can they find peace and rest.

The Commandment to keep holy the Sabbath is the oldest commandment that there is for ever since the world has stood as it is, the commandment has stood with it. The very fact that the sacred writer represents God as working a week,makes Him our pattern and example, and implies a commandment for us to do the same.The Law was given by God at the creation of the world, and hence, it is that among all, believers and non-believers, we find one day of rest observed in the week.

It is a great impiety to desecrate God's day whether one calls it the Sabbath, the Lord's Day or just plain Sunday.

Mankind,by virtue that he is made in the image and likeness of God, is meant to be holy as God is holy. You are correct in saying that we try to be holy by ceasing to do evil, doing good and bringing about good for all beings. Yet, this is only part of it. The rest is acknowledging, loving, serving and worshipping the Very Author of good, of right, of holy.




Man stands high above the rest of nature and has dominion over it. All of the universe of nature is good, but not holy. The trees aren't holy; dogs aren't holy; the universe isn't holy.