A Moment Of Rest

It is 11:59 on New Year’s Eve, 2017, the very last minute of the year and the last order comes in.  I thought we were done for the night and I could start cleaning and go home but one more person decided to order three pizzas before the end of the year.

This usually isn’t a big deal for me. But New Year’s Eve 2017 was different because it was Sunday.  I usually do not work on Sunday as it is a day of rest.  But there are a few days of the year that are required work days by many companies in the food industry and New Year’s Eve and Superbowl Sunday are among them. 

So on New Year’s Eve I went to Mass during the day and reported to work at 5:00pm.  As soon as I walked through the door I donned an apron and began making pizzas.  I did not stop moving until the last order was completed-which incidentally was after Sunday was gone.  Every time we got close to completing the last order on the screen, the phones would start ringing again and the internet orders would likewise come in. 

There was a single moment, one moment when the screen was clear and I could take a breath.  That was my Sunday moment of rest.

Growing up I heard a lot of people saying that we should do no unnecessary servile work on Sunday.  I heard many fewer people say that we should not shop or eat out on Sunday, although those voices were there.  I understood the concept of not eating out on Sunday, i.e. if no one eats out, then the stores and restaurants will close and people won’t have to work on Sunday, but I figured that as long as they were open anyway, there was no harm in me ordering a pizza on a Sunday night.  Now I understand.  Maybe there will always be people who order pizza on Sunday.  But if enough people decide not to, maybe I get to go home early on a required work day and can rest as God intended.  Even if not, (and this is the more realistic and necessary consequence) if one person decides not to order pizza on a Sunday night, that might be my moment of rest.  That might be my opportunity remember for one moment that Sunday is sacred and for the Lord.

I was able to claim one moment of rest last night to re-consecrate my Sunday. I pray that some of you reading this will see to it that those Christians who are forced to work on the Lord’s Day will have at least on moment of rest.  As for me, I hope to claim at least one moment of rest on Superbowl Sunday.