Homily outline using both resources: We can trust and act upon the gift of God’s freedom

• We might think that observing the Sabbath as Christians means Sundays off from work and going to Church.
  • Sabbath, however, is more than a reference to the 7^th day of rest after creation.
  • Observing the Sabbath connects us back to God liberating the Israelites and giving them reason to trust in God apart from their own work and efforts to free themselves.
• It might be illuminating to compare observing the Sabbath to plants and their relationship to sunlight:
  • We may already know what photosynthesis is (if not, click here for a short video to watch).
  • Most of us may not know, however, that it is not only possible to grow seedlings indoors and in the dark
    • but that it actually possible to grow a taller sunflower seedling indoors and in darkness,
    • than a sunflower seedling grown outdoors and in the sunlight.
  • The problem, however, is that the impressive initial height of the seedling grown inside and in the darkness is not as sturdy as the seedling grown outdoors with consistent light.
• The light of God is a consistent gift in our lives.
  • We might be able to achieve more worldly success if we work on our Christian equivalent of the Sabbath
    • or even altogether ignore rituals surrounding Sunday and the expressions of faith in which it rests
  • But if we take that path our growth in life shielded from or reimagined without Sabbath will be flimsy:
    • maybe tall, but not spiritually hearty.
• Committing to a Christian understanding of Sabbath observance, of course, is much more than going to Mass or fulling other ritual obligations presumed necessary for being a “good Catholic.”
  • In Mark, the Pharisees are quick to criticize Jesus for feeding his disciples and healing on the Sabbath.
  • Yet Jesus counters their accusations of these ritual violations by framing his actions as actually fulfilling the desires of God.
  • Jesus sharply corrects the Pharisees, reminding them that the will and law of God is to do good and to save life.
• We should not treat Sunday observance like a superstition we keep or any other aspect of churchly life.
  • Archaeologists recently discovered all kinds of twisted, bent, and reshaped nails surrounding a body at a burial site in Turkey.
  • They believe the nails were used like magical charms to keep the corpse and its evil spirit in place.
  • For us Christians, it is important not to treat Sunday observance or any other aspect like magical rituals or incantations to keep us on the right path.
  • Even from a humanistic perspective, there is evidence that acting on superstitious beliefs can have a negative impact on our social well-being.
  • From a religious perspective, fulfilling ritual expectations such as Sunday observances as some kind of sacred insurance policy can also have a negative impact on our religious well-being.
• The ancient gift of Sabbath observance is an opportunity to remember the open, creative, liberating, and flexible goodness of Jesus.
  • Even in the face of petty accusations
    • and more serious punishment from those he came to save like being nailed on a cross
  • Jesus understood that true and sturdy faith is more than going through the motions of holiness.
  • It is tapping into the constant light of God and maturing our entire selves toward it in all that we do,
    • whether we continue treasured traditions
    • or innovate fresh ways of being faithful.
  • Paul reminds us that we are “children of the light and children of the day.”
  • One litmus test that we are authentically living in the light of a Sabbath spirituality, and not simply fulfilling some Sunday ritual, is that we work for the liberation of others.
  • This weds us to the original spirit of God’s Sabbath gift of liberation to the Israelites and keeps us on the path of exercising a true and sturdy faith.