The Lord's Day

[Thomas]

II. The Lord's Day

The day of the Resurrection: the new creation

2174 Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week." Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath, it symbolises the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:
We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.

Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath
2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:
Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.

2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all." Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

 

[Thomas]

From the Sabbath to Sunday

Because the Third Commandment depends upon the remembrance of God's saving works and because Christians saw the definitive time inaugurated by Christ as a new beginning, they made the first day after the Sabbath a festive day, for that was the day on which the Lord rose from the dead.

The Paschal Mystery of Christ is the full revelation of the mystery of the world's origin, the climax of the history of salvation and the anticipation of the eschatological fulfilment of the world. What God accomplished in Creation and wrought for his People in the Exodus has found its fullest expression in Christ's Death and Resurrection, though its definitive fulfilment will not come until the Parousia, when Christ returns in glory.

In him, the "spiritual" meaning of the Sabbath is fully realised, as Saint Gregory the Great declares: "For us, the true Sabbath is the person of our Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ". This is why the joy with which God, on humanity's first Sabbath, contemplates all that was created from nothing, is now expressed in the joy with which Christ, on Easter Sunday, appeared to his disciples, bringing the gift of peace and the gift of the Spirit (cf. Jn 20:19-23). It was in the Paschal Mystery that humanity, and with it the whole creation, "groaning in birth-pangs until now" (Rom 8:22), came to know its new "exodus" into the freedom of God's children who can cry out with Christ, "Abba, Father!" (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6).

In the light of this mystery, the meaning of the Old Testament precept concerning the Lord's Day is recovered, perfected and fully revealed in the glory which shines on the face of the Risen Christ (cf. 2 Cor 4:6). We move from the "Sabbath" to the "first day after the Sabbath", from the seventh day to the first day: the dies Domini becomes the dies Christi!
Apostolic Letter Dies Domini, Pope John-Paul II, Ch1, para18.

 

[Thomas]

As for early observance –
"I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet"
Apocalypse 1:10 c96AD

“But every Lord’s day . . . gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned”
(Didache 14 70AD).

“We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead”
(Letter of Barnabas 15:6–8 74AD).

 

[juantoo3]

Ask a practicing Jew....the Sabbath and the Lord's Day are one and the same.

It didn't change officially until 321 by decree of Constantine.

 

[Thomas]

Ask a practicing Jew....the Sabbath and the Lord's Day are one and the same.

For the Jew, perhaps ... for the Christian, clearly they're different.

It didn't change officially until 321 by decree of Constantine.

'Officially' in the sense of Roman civil practice.

From the Christian viewpoint, it was accepted practice, before the close of the first century, to celebrate the Lord's Day, that is the Eighth Day, the Day of the Resurrection.

When Jesus said "Do this

 

[wil]

For the Jew, perhaps ... for the Christian, clearly they're different.


'Officially' in the sense of Roman civil practice.

From the Christian viewpoint, it was accepted practice, before the close of the first century, to celebrate the Lord's Day, that is the Eighth Day, the Day of the Resurrection.

When Jesus said "Do this

When Jesus said do this?

Paul wrote a lot of letters to keep his flock in line...did any say what day they met for communion service?

 

[juantoo3]

When Jesus said do this?

Paul wrote a lot of letters to keep his flock in line...did any say what day they met for communion service?

He's referring to the Last Supper, "Do this in remembrance of me." Problem is that supper was on a Wednesday, about a full day prior to a High Sabbath (which isn't the same as the weekly Sabbath) of Passover.

And no, Paul did not at any time instruct any of his churches to go against the established practices of the Jewish faith apart from Kosher (including circumcision) since they were primarily Gentiles and subject to Noahide Law only. Paul and Peter had a significant row about it documented in the Acts.

 

[juantoo3]

Desiderata​

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann ©1927

 

[juantoo3]

I have already spoken my Truth quietly and clearly. I have planted the seed.

I cannot make a seed grow. That is between G!d and the seed.

 

[wil]

Desiderata

I recall clearly the first day I read/saw this. It was right after a period of bliss experienced in the heat and humidity of a Mid-Atlantic summer day. My number was called in a govt office and this was posted in the employees cubicle. While they left to handle mybpaperwork...I read it. They took it down at my request and made a copy.

After I left them planets aligned and the govt request I needed completed was granted....4 hours later I left on a futile mission...a wild Goose chase...almost guaranteed to return empty handed....

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

I did.

 

[TheLightWithin]

Desiderata​

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann ©1927

My mom had a copy of this when I was little.
It makes me think of her.

 

[Thomas]

Paul wrote a lot of letters to keep his flock in line...did any say what day they met for communion service?

No. In fact Acts and the early commentaries generally have very little to say about Christian sacramental and liturgical practice – only hints that there were such practices.

For Paul, the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist had the deepest spiritual significance – "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (I Corinthians 10:16). It underpins a lot of his theology.

But Acts gives not a single instance of its celebration, nor of any sacramental idea connected with bread and wine – nor indeed of baptism, although clearly both Baptism and the Eucharist were regarded as sacraments. Likewise there are no definitive records (AFAIK) of early liturgies, although the gathering were clearly liturgical.

 

[RJM]

And although there are people who push the friction between Peter and Paul to emphasize the distance between the Roman Christians and the original Jewish Christians in Jerusalem or sects like the Ebionites -- the fact is that Peter changed his mind and came around to Paul's belief that baptism replaced circumcision and kosher observance?

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2010:9-11:18&version=NIV
"About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

… The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days …"

 

[juantoo3]

Exactly.

 

[Thomas]

The early church prayed as Jews, worshipped as Jews – a liturgical praxis.

The early Christians met and worshipped following Jewish liturgical practices, to which they added the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but this was a private practice in the 'house churches' of the faithful. To this we can assume Baptism as a pre requisite to the Eucharist, some form of 'confession' or 'reconciliation', the Agape meal ... and slowly the Jewish pattern of worship took on new meaning and content.

The admission of Gentiles into the Church brought problems. Paul famously caused a disturbance trying to bring a Gentile into the Temple. Later, Christians found themselves excluded from Temple and synagogue.

Synagogue worship consisted of a litany of prayers, a confession, eulogies, readings from the Scriptures, an address or homily, and a benediction. This form constituted the core of what became specifically Christian worship. Archaeological evidence for this is found in the earliest Syrian churches, and there is textual evidence in Early Church writings such as the Didache and the Apostolic Constitutions, and in the continuous practice of the Nestorian Church.

Early churches faced east, signifying that Christians looked to the heavenly Jerusalem from which the Messiah will come, and know themselves to be the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” To face the rising sun, the dawn of a new day, was a fitting symbol of the appearance of Christ in the Parousia.

By the end of the 1st century, there were Christian communities in most major cities and many smaller ones, usually holding services in secret, under threat of persecution. By the 2nd century, the Eucharist began to be separated from the Agape meal, perhaps because the growing gentile congregation had no affiliation to Jewish customs.

It was the schism between Christianity band Judaism that separated the Jewish Christians from their heritage, and the incorporation of Gentiles who, understandably, did not possess a Jewish sensibility regarding ritualistic meals. That, combined with a Christological emphasis on readings, preaching, teaching, and so on ... the Christian community began to move away from and lose sight of those aspects of the Jewish heritage.

 

[juantoo3]

Close enough for government work. I might quibble on some minor points but overall I think you summed it up well.

 

[wil]

The first time I left a shabbat service and stood around ripping off a piece of challah and passing it....and then passing around the wine it surprised me...oh...this is nothing new...not new to anyone at the last supper.

 

[Thomas]

An interesting comment here –

"Some dramatic consequences followed from the destruction of the Temple. The first one was the birth of two new religions, rather than one. Side by side with the birth of Christianity, the appearance of Rabbinic Judaism after 70CE, and its growth in the following centuries represents a real mutation of the religion of Israel: indeed, a religion now without sacrifices, a religion whose priests were out of business, in which religious specialists had been replaced by the intellectual elite. In a way, early Christianity, a religion centred upon a sacrificial ritual celebrated by priests, represents a more obvious continuity with the religion of Israel than the religion of the Rabbis."

G.G. Stroumsa, The End of Sacrifice: Religious Mutations of Late Antiquity, in Empsychoi Logoi – Religious Innovations in Antiquity: Studies in Honour of Pieter Willem van der Horst, Leiden-Boston, 2008, p. 30-46.

Guy G. Stroumsa is Martin Buber Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Professor Emeritus of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, and Emeritus Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. He is a Member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich.

 

[juantoo3]

No. In fact Acts and the early commentaries generally have very little to say about Christian sacramental and liturgical practice – only hints that there were such practices.

For Paul, the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist had the deepest spiritual significance – "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (I Corinthians 10:16). It underpins a lot of his theology.

But Acts gives not a single instance of its celebration, nor of any sacramental idea connected with bread and wine – nor indeed of baptism, although clearly both Baptism and the Eucharist were regarded as sacraments. Likewise there are no definitive records (AFAIK) of early liturgies, although the gathering were clearly liturgical.

About the closest to a description of a baptism is John and Jesus in the Wilderness.

And there were others there, seeking to be baptized. So John had a gig going. I'd guess it wasn't the first ever baptism John performed.

And come to think of it, ritual washing was on the agenda at Nicea, specifically Jewish ritual washing....and the kibosh was put on that right quick.

I always looked at baptism as ritual washing...but we are also told baptism is once for all....no do overs. You mess up bad enough to come back 'round a second time you better be doing some serious soul searching and talking to G!d.

I'm guessing, because ritual washing was the low hanging fruit of the Nicene Council so it didn't get a lot of press. I'm thinking they meant the "routine" washings...which now in the first world we know all about hand washing and such, back then I guess it might have seemed a bit much, especially in regards to baptism. Romans had their steam baths, too, so bathing shouldn't be a problem I would think, but washing your hands every time you do something I guess seemed weird to Roman sensibilities.

Either that, or another "stick it to ya!" between Christians and Jews.

 

[TheLightWithin]

About the closest to a description of a baptism is John and Jesus in the Wilderness.

And there were others there, seeking to be baptized. So John had a gig going. I'd guess it wasn't the first ever baptism John performed.

And come to think of it, ritual washing was on the agenda at Nicea, specifically Jewish ritual washing....and the kibosh was put on that right quick.

I always looked at baptism as ritual washing...but we are also told baptism is once for all....no do overs. You mess up bad enough to come back 'round a second time you better be doing some serious soul searching and talking to G!d.

I'm guessing, because ritual washing was the low hanging fruit of the Nicene Council so it didn't get a lot of press. I'm thinking they meant the "routine" washings...which now in the first world we know all about hand washing and such, back then I guess it might have seemed a bit much, especially in regards to baptism. Romans had their steam baths, too, so bathing shouldn't be a problem I would think, but washing your hands every time you do something I guess seemed weird to Roman sensibilities.

Either that, or another "stick it to ya!" between Christians and Jews.

Is this connected to the ritual foot washing practiced by some Baptists today?