Cardijn Community Australia Enquiry – The Right to Rest
Scripture Reading
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work …. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8–11)
What meaning do you find in this reading?
Introduction
The need and desire for rest is well known. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer.”
See
How do you and your family spend Sundays?
In your experience is Sunday somehow different from other days of the week?
What is it like to work on Sundays?
Judge
What do you think about how you and your family spend your Sundays?
The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council has stated:
Time for relaxation with family and friends is a social benefit of work that must be protected as a “right to rest”. We need to reject the notion that the weekend can be sacrificed to a “24/7 economy” or that Sunday is “just another day” in the trading cycle. (Trends Jun 2016)
What do you think about reducing penalty rates on Sundays to create more jobs?
Act
Is there anything you want to do regarding your family’s Sunday habits?
What about your personal rest and faith?
Anything needed in terms of the political debate on Sunday trading?
Final Reflection (Luke: 6:8)
But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand among us.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” And after looking around at all of them, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and it was restored
