Was musing on the three days — Friday, Saturday, Sunday — that mark off the children of Abraham into three warring camps. The Christians celebrate Sunday, the Muslims gather on Friday, and the Jews keep the Sabbath — or at least, as the Jews themselves say, the Sabbath has kept the Jews far more than the Jews have kept the Sabbath.

Now, as we all already know, one bad thing about Sunday is its anti-Semitic origins — it began with 2nd century Christian bishops anxious to separate themselves from the Synagogue — anxious for two reasons: 1) their writings show that they wanted to exercise greater power over the Christians, and 2) they wanted to avoid the persecution being meted out against the Jews.

I find it amazing their justification! Perhaps the earliest reference to Sunday is to be found in the Epistle of Barnabas, where it looks like the eighth day celebrates the fact that our salvation awaits the eighth millennium!

“... So then, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything will be completed. ‘And he rested on the seventh day.’ This means, when his Son comes he will destroy the time of the wicked one, and will judge the godless, and will change the sun and the moon and the stars, and then he will truly rest on the seventh day. Furthermore he says, ‘Thou shalt sanctify it with clean hands and a pure heart.’ If, then, anyone has at present the power to keep holy the day which God made holy, by being pure in heart, we are altogether deceived. ... Do you see what he means? The present sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but that which I have made, in which I will give rest to all things and make the beginning of an eighth day, that is the beginning of another world. Wherefore we also celebrate with gladness the eighth day in which Jesus also rose from the dead, and was made manifest, and ascended into Heaven.” (Ep. Barnabas 15:4-9)

The Muslims, of course, could keep neither the Sabbath nor Sunday what with their separate claim to divine legitimacy. So they picked Friday. The Koran sees the Sabbath only as adding strife to strife in Israel:

“The Sabbath was only made for those who disagreed; but God will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, as to their differences.” (Sura 16:124)

Here Yusuf Ali comments: “It was instituted with the Law of Moses because of Israel’s hardness of heart; for they constantly disputed with their Prophet Moses ... Let them dispute among themselves. Their dispute will not be settled till the Day of Judgment.”

The Muslims see Israel’s tenure in the land as completely terminated (Koran, Sura 17:4-8), and therefore it is interesting that those who seek God on the 6th day of the week — Friday — have been in possession of the Temple Mount for the entire duration of the 6th millennium.

Maybe they have had their reward!

When their Holy Qur’an says, “The Sabbath was only made for those who disagreed”, maybe the Muslims should consider Jesus’ words (Mk 2:27-28), “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath”. And when their Book asserts that the matter of the Sabbath will be settled on the Day of Judgment, they might be wise to remember that Jesus continued with, “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”

The Muslims have had their millennium and the Christians await theirs a thousand years from now. But the Jews who have not forgotten the Covenant will be rewarded when their Messiah returns to sit on the throne in Jerusalem.

My sister brings up Luke 19 where Jesus said that the one who kept his one pound laid up in a napkin would be judged out of his own mouth: “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow”. (Lk 19:22)

Maybe it will be likewise for the children of Abraham — the Sabbatarians, the Sunday separatists, and those who go to the Mosque a day early.

9 July 2000 Email the author