Sunday is NOT and is the Sabbath

So, I divide my time between two churches for family unity. I attend an Eastern Orthodox church and an Evangelical one. The Evangelical church likes to occasionally have what they call "Sabbath Sundays," where they occasionally give the church a Sunday off from services. They will also cancel Sunday services if Christmas falls on a Sunday (so much for a Christ mass). 

Anyway, in the early Christian context, the Sabbath was still on Saturdays -- the 7th day. Sundays were considered the 8th day. It was chronologically the first day, but theologically the eighth day. This was a new thing and was also connected to circumcision. Jewish baby boys were circumcised on the 8th day after birth. In Christ's death and resurrection was seen the new covenant circumcision of the heart. So Sundays were not the Sabbath.

In fact, Sunday service was historically called a liturgy, which is the work of the Church in being the kingdom of priests, gathering together to repent and pray for the planet. But in our self-seeking modern context, we see church service as individuals being served by music and a self-help message. 

In time, as Judaism and Christianity diverged, the Sabbath practice diminished and Sundays assumed the primary worship day for the Church, subsuming the Sabbath. So it is in a way the Sabbath here, but it really isn't. It should be the highest work day the the Church. 

Needless to say, I am very critical of churches that act so passively and miss the point. I'm not trying to be legalistic, but I am saddened by the misapplied focus of church. 

That's my gripe for the day.

Blessings.