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Editorial
The Editors

At first sight, the topic of this issue of SIDIC - Sabbath and Sunday - does not seem to be of great current interest. We are used to the traditional pattern of special days of the week, the Sabbath for Jews, the Sunday for Christians. However, the rapidly changing world in which we live affects also the conception of these days of worship and rest. The perpetual grind of industry and changing structures in society pose questions for the existential meaning of the traditional holy days. Furthermore, the growing contact between Jews and Christians demands a deeper understanding of their respective celebrations. This becomes particularly urgent when we begin to reflect on the role the Sabbath and Sunday could or should play in the search for a more humane society, against the many de-humanizing tendencies of an increasingly industrialized and manipulated world. It seems important to emphasize in a more and more secularized society the social values of the Sabbath and Sunday. In fact both days celebrate the relationship of man with God and with the creation he receives from the Lord, although Sunday is perhaps less explicit about the latter aspect.
The study of the history and the significance of the Sabbath and Sunday presented by the authors of this issue shows the deeply human, social and religious riches of these celebrations. It shows also the great difference between the two: Sunday is first of all the memorial celebration of the resurrection of Christ; the Sabbath is the memorial celebration of creation, of the Lord Creator and of man the co-creator. It is the celebration of joy and hope for the final fulfilment of creation and redemption. But both days center on life, given by God and still to be realized and manifested in its fulness. The rest on the Sabbath and the Sunday rest are also differently based and interpreted. Founded in Scripture, the seventh day rest serves to strengthen man's bond with the Lord (in ancient times this exceptional social phenomenon was even a source of derision as pagans mocked the « lazy Jews »). On the other hand, the Sunday rest was first imposed by emperor Constantine in 351; it took some time before it was given a religious meaning.
The rediscovery of the Bible and its very rich values, growing ecumenical openness and the serious search for new relations between Christians and Jews can lead us to a new appreciation of the Sabbath and Sunday, especially in the perspective of our common social and religious responsibility for the world today.