Mtr Mary Trainor (Copy 5/13)

Dear friend,

In 1957, in Los Angeles County, California, my parents opened a small retail nursery in a town called El Monte.

My father had owned and operated other small businesses, so he knew some of the early decisions that were needed. Who would be our primary customer, what would we call the business, what hours would we be open? And—would we be open on Sundays?

That last question was a tough one. In a time and place where most people still worshiped on Sundays, keeping the Sabbath was more or less expected.

Nowadays, almost all businesses are open on Sundays which means all their employees are working and, it might be argued, that a great many of their customers and clients are working, too. Sabbath-keeping in 21st century U.S. America—if it happens at all—is becoming less visible.

At a basic level we understand our Office passage today from Luke (6:1-11.) But the underlying passion, perhaps even fervor, about Sabbath-keeping may elude us who live in an increasingly secular world.

Jesus has two encounters with Pharisees about the Sabbath. The first is quite benign.The second provokes “fury” among the Pharisees, who then huddle and discuss what they might do to Jesus. He had asked questions: Is or lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath? To save a life or to destroy it? When they failed to answer, Jesus healed a man’s withered hand before their eyes.

Why the strong reaction? Why the fury? To be sure, Jesus bested them and that never feels good. But if they could get past the embarrassment they would see a living miracle standing before them: a man who had a withered hand was now healed. He could feed himself more easily, do household tasks, work the farm, earn a living, cradle a baby, hold hands with his wife. Why not a huge celebration instead of grousing and plotting

Maybe they had the Sabbath rule all wrong. Maybe it wasn’t healing and eating and even some work that were the problem. Maybe the rest they needed was a break from their legalistic observance of the law.

My parents decided that their primary customer was someone looking for personal service; they named their garden center The Norwood Nursery; they were open 9 to 6.

And, yes, they were open on Sundays. They thought the person who worked hard all week and looked forward to creating beauty in their gardens deserved a safe place to go, where friendly and knowledgeable people could tend to their cares and questions. And it wouldn’t cost a fortune.

My parents worked on Sundays so that others could rest from their labors. And they did so for 32 years.

Mtr. Mary
...while Fr. Peter Helman is on pilgrimage.