Sunday: The day of the Resurrection

Le Tombeau Vide (The Empty Tomb) © Vie de Jesus MAFA, 24, rue de Marechal Joffre, 78000 VERSAILLES, France. www.jesusmafa.com

Jesus rose from the dead “on the first day of the week.”(Jn20:1) Because it is the “first day,” the day of Christ’s Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the “eighth day” following the sabbath,(Mk 16:1) it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ’s Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:

As  St Justin Martyr records:

We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath,
but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Saviour rose from the dead.