Let’s keep Sunday sacred

TERRENCE HONORE

SUNDAY IS the soul of the nation. It is more than just a fanatical religious preoccupation. There is a reason why the day was woven into the fabric of our society. We have to save Sunday.

Historically, the practice of reserving a day for rest was the best thing for a fledging nation. It was biblical in intent and economical in its effect. It offered intangible rewards such as resting from the labours of life and connecting with the divine.

Most of that has changed, somewhat. Like the ebbing tide that erodes our shoreline, the will and ways of men have shaped this part of our existence and changed our perspective on the day. But there are grave consequences for the nation that does not seek their God and prefers to make Sunday like every other day.

It is so sad what has happened to Sunday, once a day of worship. Our fathers failed to instil in us the respect for the divine and the restful time that the day offers. For many it’s only time to play and dingolay, or even to make some more money. While a few faithful find respite in the solemn assembly of prayer, their hands are raised in praise and sometimes in protest at what our Sunday has become.

We have failed as a people to extol the virtues of the day. Although it’s justifiable that we should engage our time and energy towards acquiring wealth, the essence of our lives cannot be trifled away by sacrificing the only day we have for rest. Sunday must be set aside for the purpose of praise and thanksgiving and relaxation.

We must remember the fate of the great city of Rome and the debauchery, the wantonness, the festivities and flagrant disorders of the day. The same demise is certain for our nation if we reject the formula for success that is found in the wisdom of a day of rest.

It’s interesting that the recent virus has caused us to rethink our position, making almost every day like a Sunday. We now have plenty of time to rest and reflect. Of consequence, we now give ourselves to quiet deliberation of life and its challenges. That was God’s plan from the beginning.

In past times, the law protected Sunday, limiting labour and the opening of bars and businesses, but we have since “flipped” on the importance of the day. The old ordinances have been left in the dusty corners of the library of laws. The common law as an astute reflection of the soul and intent of men in their normal duties has revealed where we are as a nation. Is it then not prudent, just and fair that we should preserve the sanctity of the day called Sunday?

To violate the sacredness of Sunday is to pronounce judgment on ourselves as a nation. The day that was essential to our family life, a day that would cause men to pause and reflect and to recharge their “batteries” for another go at life, that day is dying and so is the soul of the nation.

Though some people have kept the faith, they are few and fewer each day. The churches are emptier, the beaches are fuller and the rum shops are ranking. Meanwhile, the many devious ways of man are changing God’s plan from a time to rest to a time of leisure and pleasure and doing dastardly deeds.

There is a price to pay for surrendering Sunday to the frivolities of life. We may think that we contribute more to the economy by reducing the importance of Sunday, when in fact we are in denial and do our children and ourselves a grave injustice with this diabolical ploy.

We have sauntered our way into contemporary time, moved by the subtle seductions of popular culture, trends and wayward ideologies. The Sunday morning time for worship has been nullified by the need to rest or hit a beach or two and what has evolved is a callous deviation from the norm.

The exigencies of our time seem to be winning the argument for us to continue to change the day from the way it was designed. But all change is not progress and there is a consequence for our actions if we continue to misuse and abuse Sunday in the way it has been done.

So to those among us who care to retain the respectfulness of the day, to make time for family and friends, to reflect, to recharge and find a place to worship and pray, I commend you. Let us be the remnant that holds this day to be sacrosanct to our society. We are the silent heroes who must take a stand against the marauding minds and missions of the greedy and the heady-minded – those lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Let us keep the sacredness of Sunday in its rightful place, as central to the resolution of problems in our nation. We have to preserve the order of things or the disorder with destroy us. Let’s save Sunday for our nation’s sake!