HOLY IS THIS TIME - #5

Sunday is the Lord's Day. Christians sanctify time by gathering on the first day of the week, the eight day, the time that is between the Lord's first coming in human flesh and his coming again in glory. In the first centuries Christians could not gather in public to celebrate the Lord's Day. They feared that they would be persecuted or imprisoned or martyred because their allegiance was to Christ and not to the official Roman religion. Martyrdom was the only way that Christians stood out in public. What should have been public, the weekly table sharing called the Eucharist, was held in the privacy of homes.

Christians were loyal to the Roman Empire and to the Emperor. They went out of their way to pay taxes, to be honest, and to act with integrity towards those they encountered in the market place and the public square. Christians refrained from some jobs that would have put them in conflict with their faith. Christians kept their faith alive not only on Sunday, but also on a daily basis. Some Christians had been Jewish; others were Gentiles. Nevertheless, the basic form of daily prayer seems to have been inherited from Judaism.

Jews prayed three times a day; at sunrise, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and at sundown. They turned toward the holy city, Jerusalem, and faced east whey they prayed. The morning and evening prayer consisted of prayers of blessing and a prayer that acknowledged that the God of Israel is One. Christians continued to pray three times a day; at sunrise, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and at sundown. Some continued to pray in Jewish style. Eventually, they started to use the Lord's Prayer as the foundational prayer of Christianity. This prayer really summed up the whole Gospel. It is short and simple. Christians, as Matthew's gospel reminds us, do not use a lot of titles to address God. Instead, they simply pray: Abba, dearest Daddy. The prayer is intimate and warm, trusting and affectionate.

The practice of daily prayer later developed around the two poles of the day: sunrise and sundown. This enabled our ancestors to respect cosmic rhythms and to connect them with their own rhythms. The ancients rose with the sunrise, gave thanks to God for the creation of a new day, and asked God to help them dedicate the day's activities and their work to the honor and glory of God. Similarly, they ceased work at sundown, gave thanks for the blessing of the day, and asked God for their needs as they returned home to domestic life. The rhythm of prayer dovetailed with the rhythms of commerce, work, and family life.

The practice of celebrating the Eucharist each day developed at a later time. The more ancient rhythm was associated with the cosmos itself. Somehow this instinct continues in the life of Christians. Several people have told me that they take time each day to pray in the morning, to meditate, to do inspirational reading, and to ask God to help them do well with the new day. Similarly, these same people take time to thank God at the end of the day, to take inventory on their attitude and conduct, and to ask God's protection for them and their families during the night hours. Instinctively, Christians know that God is in charge of their lives and well being.