Restoring the Symbolic meaning of Sunday

I love reading books about the Sabbath.

As our family has practiced Sabbath-keeping for almost two decades, I’ve seen how it has, more than any other rhythm in my life, drawn me deeper into the meaning and experience of the Gospel.

While reading a new Sabbath book this week I was struck by how often and confidently the author wrote, “Sunday was the new Sabbath for the Early Church.”

Now, I tend to have little to no reaction to these statements. Our family practices Sabbath on Saturday and I know historically most Christians, when they do keep Sabbath, keep it on Sunday.

Great! Rest is important.

Sabbath-keeping is clearly declared by the Apostle Paul a no judgement zone when he wrote, “So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.” Colossians 2:16–17

So I’ve never worried much about whether anyone else keeps a Sabbath or which day.

But there is a conversation that I think is worth having about the biblical symbolism of Sunday.

When this author confidently declared that the early Church changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday he used as his proof text, Acts 20:7 “On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper.”

We know the first day of the week was Sunday.

But what this author was saying is they gathered on Sunday therefore Sunday is the new Sabbath, the day when they rested.

However, this conclusion fails to observe the clearest thing Luke (the author of Acts) is saying about the week…”On the first day of the week, we gathered…”

Biblical symbols for the week derive their foundational meaning from Genesis 1.

So what happened on the first day of the week in Genesis 1?

The first day of the week was the first day of God’s new creative work.

Sunday symbolizes new creation!

That’s why Jesus rose on Sunday.

That’s why the early church gathered on Sunday.

Symbolically there is a world of difference between a day that symbolizes rest and one that symbolizes new creation.

Now let me say again, any individual or family or congregation can rest and worship on any day they choose.

I’m not arguing for a new rule, I want to ensure that we as teachers properly represent the symbolism of the week.

The week was intended to be a drama that goes from creation to rest to new creation.

Every week has this story arch.

I’m captured by the beauty of the story of the week and it has shaped me and my family into beings who strive to dance to its rhythm.

We work on Sunday because we want to create on Sunday.

It’s the first day of our work week.

We call it Soft-launch Sunday.

After a day of rest our creative energy peaks on Sunday.

So we fill Sunday with relaxed creative projects.

This is when some of our best work is done.

Then, after our day of creating, we gather with other believers for a meal in a home to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

The intensity of our work peaks on what we’ve started to call Tough Tuesday.

It’s our longest work day where I often will work a 16 hour day.

But we all know rest is coming.

We slide into Friday where we enjoy a big family meal to kick off our Sabbath. (Remember in Genesis the day begins in the evening “there was evening and morning” so in the Genesis rhythm the day begins on sundown).

I’m writing this to exhort fellow teachers to see the beauty in the biblical week and to resist reading modern church decisions back into the symbolic meaning of the biblical days.

Let’s preserve their meaning even when we make personal decisions that are not in sync with that meaning.

We have freedom in Christ to enjoy any theme on any day but let’s not use that freedom as a license to misrepresent the biblical meaning of each day.

The early Church in Acts did not “change the Sabbath to Sunday”.

That happened later.

The early Church celebrated the Resurrection and this era of new creation on Sunday.

Because of the Gospel we are all “new creations” and we see all around us the Spring-time theme of Sunday where Jesus declares over the old created order, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

The symbolism of Sunday does not need to borrow the symbolism of Saturday to make it more meaningful.

Sunday is packed with a meaning all its own.