Asking the Clergy: When is it OK to work on a religious day of rest?

Whether a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier who is Christian can be required to work on Sundays is being considered in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. This week’s clergy discuss their faith’s position on the requirement to rest on the Sabbath.

The Rev. Henrietta Scott Fullard

Presiding elder (retired), Long Island District, African Methodist Episcopal Churches

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all the work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shall not do any work” (Exodus 20:8-10). Taking a Sabbath day is a witness to yourself, and to all, that you honor the Lord and behold his righteousness and goodness before all people. It is a blessing to the people of God, and at the same time it can become a halo to the company or service of work that you do.

However, Scripture does not say it must be on Sunday. You can recognize a day, or a moment that is your Sabbath and it could be a place that you have reserved for worship at your workplace. A required day of work on the Sabbath, if it is in service of others, is always an opportunity to serve the Lord in performing one’s duties. The work that we do is always permissible on any day as a symbol of prosperity, gratefulness and continued production that the Lord will enable a company to perform. The Lord designates us to become his forbearers in places of need, i.e. hospitals.

Rabbi Shalom Lipszyc

Town of Oyster Bay Chabad, Woodbury

Shabbat, our word for Sabbath, is the best day of the week You get to rest, relax and reconnect with your family and friends. You don't have to worry about work, bills or traffic. You can enjoy delicious food, inspiring prayers and meaningful conversations. Shabbat is a gift from God. "More than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews," wrote the poet Asher Ginsberg (1856-1927).

The Torah allows us to break Shabbat only in cases of life-threatening danger or medical emergency. This is based on the principle of pikuach nefesh, which means saving a life. The Torah values human life above almost everything else and teaches us that preserving it overrides the observance of Shabbat. This is derived from the verse in Leviticus 18:5, "You shall keep My statutes and My ordinances, which a person shall do and live by them. I am the L-rd." The Talmud explains that this means "live by them and not die by them."

Therefore, if someone's life is in danger on Shabbat, we are obligated to do whatever is necessary to save them, even if it involves violating Shabbat laws.

The Rev. Earl Y. Thorpe Jr.

Pastor, Church-in-the-Garden, Garden City

What would happen to our hospital system if Christian doctors said they would not work on Sunday? The justification for not working on Sunday is a belief based on the confluence of texts in Genesis 2:2-3 that God “rested” on the seventh day and in Exodus 20:8-10, where the Fourth Commandment proclaims the Sabbath day holy.

While these readings sound reasonable, a slippery slope results when we apply Scriptures to our lives wholesale without regard for theological discernment and practical application. The theological call to keep the Sabbath day holy is a holistic way to ensure that we remember God amid our tendency to overlook God in our self-imposed busy-ness.

What is often missed and is lacking in the case before the U.S. Supreme Court is the understanding that keeping the Sabbath day holy does not preclude work being done. Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew (12:10-12), clears the confusion on doing what is right and holy (practical religion) versus being stuck to dogma and sloppy theology. All work requires rest days; however, working on prescribed days of rest is always permissible when serving humanity. We keep the Sabbath day holy when we serve the community through our labor.