2. A day of holy convocation Lev 23:3
Yes, back to the topic. So the Sabbaths are to be "holy assemblies" according to Lev 23, with possibly a supposed implication that this amounts to "going to church." There are problems with this view of Lev 23 though. For one, Lev 23:1 indicates that the following list in Lev 23 is a list of many prescribed "holy assemblies," and indeed, it doesn't just list one holy assembly, it lists several. It's not clear to me why we would observe 1 and only 1 of these prescribed holy assemblies, but not any of the others. And it's equally as unclear why all but one of the prescribed holy assemblies would be interpreted and applied in light of Jesus' death and resurrection. Why the special pleading? This is simply reading in context. One cannot look and consider only Lev 23:3 without considering the passage in which it occurs. The problem of the Sabbath in Lev 23 is actually more difficult, given that there are other Sabbaths mentioned, not just other holy assemblies mentioned.
Secondly, these "holy assemblies" in Lev 23 are quite apparently Temple oriented. They involved specific rites and liturgy that occurred in the Temple. At least some of this is listed in Num 28-29 (in addition to Lev 23) where it involved specific sacrifices and priestly duties in the Temple. Regardless of what one makes of what it means to "rest" on the Sabbath (Ex 20//Ex 34:21//Lev 23:3//Dt5), the "holy assemblies"have to do with Temple activity and its associated rites, which centrally were sacrifices. The point I'm emphasizing is that the holy assemblies on the Sabbath were, at least originally, prescribing priestly activities in the Temple and dealing primarily with sacrifice and Temple liturgy, not commanding the general populace to assemble in a local synagogue or church.
The third point here is that the Sabbath itself was originally Temple oriented. It wasn't originally simply a day for people to rest, though prohibited activity and rest was certainly a rule. It was originally a day to commemorate God's rest - really, God's enthronement - after his creation and involved specific liturgy and sacrifices. In fact, if the Mishnah is indicative, we have an idea of what this looked like over the course of a week culminating in the weekly commemoration of God's enthronement (
Mishnah Ta'anit 4:3). Originally, the Temple was viewed as a microcosm, a miniature scale, of the created order itself. It was where heaven and earth intersected and where God dwelt among his creation. The purpose of Temple liturgy and rites (esp the sacrificial system) was to maintain the created order, keep chaos and evil at bay, and maintain the balance between earth and heaven. This proceeded on recurring weekly, monthly, annual, and special occasional (ie feasts) cadences. The weekly ritual and liturgical cadence in the Temple was one of the mechanisms by which humans, though the priestly hierarchy, participated in the continual maintenance of the created order though a continual reenactment of God's creation activity culminating in God's enthronement and his dwelling in his creation with his people. Gen 1-2 is itself describing creation in terms of God constructing his Tabernacle (ref's here can be provided if wanted) and is constructed in a liturgical-like format culminating in his enthronement.
Though many would like to, it's not so easy to separate the Torah from itself and divide the Sabbath commands into arbitrarily small slices. If a Christian needed a theological reason why a "holy assembly" on the Sabbath (Saturday) is not required, then one need look no further than the Temple itself. First, there is no physical Temple at this point in time in the first place and second, the Temple has been relocated to the body of Christ, the Church, and is being extended to all creation through the proclaiming of the gospel. What God began in Jesus was a new creation that is still in progress until he returns. We celebrate Jesus' enthronement and the inauguration of the New Temple which began with Jesus' death and subsequent resurrection. Just as the Sabbath cadence in the Temple commemorated God's creation and enthronement, so the body of Christ, the New/Final/Eschatological Temple, commemorates the inauguration of the New Creation and Christ's enthronement by observing his resurrection in a continual weekly cadence.
That being said, if someone felt compelled to hold church on Saturday, I don't think there's anything that prohibits it, and I really wouldn't argue against it. Do what your conscience requires on this, by all means. On my view we are living in the "already-but-not-yet," so I don't see any problem with observing the Sabbath if someone desires to do so.
Someone said I was going against scholarship, which was weird since reading commentaries and journals is about all I do on these matters (and basically none of my opinions are original to me), so I have a sufficient amout of scholarly references (whcih oddly doesn't include DJ Kennedy, God rest his soul) if interested. Here's one book with a good summary:
Cult and Cosmos: Tilting Toward a Temple-Centered Theology (Biblical Tools and Studies): Morales, LM: 9789042930254: Amazon.com: Books . And sorry, I don't price these things - it's expensive. Could also check out Greg Beale's "the Temple and the Church's Mission" for a good overview or Beale's "New Testament Biblical Theology" (esp. ch 23), or LM Morales' "Who Shall Ascend the Mountain fhe Lord" or some of John Walton's works.
