New International Version (©1984)
For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

Should you be out training on the Sabbath? There may be more than one way to look at the question.

Saturdays and Sundays are sacrosanct days for people who run and ride. Yet one of those days is supposed to be set aside for rest according to the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Therein lies the conflict. For the weekend is a time for long runs and long rides if you are any kind of athlete at all. That is especially true if you are one of millions of “weekend warriors” who simply have to squeeze a bulk of longer, quality training into weekends because the weekday schedule is too jammed with work or other commitments.

Changing ideas

It has probably been a long time since anyone has abided by the Exodus verse quoted above, in which people are supposed to be put to death for exerting themselves on the Sabbath. In fact the last person I can recall putting up any sort of stink about playing sports on a Saturday was baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax who refused to go to the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series because the game fell on a Saturday.

Even the most devout Christians these days seem to ignore the rule of not working on Sundays. I worked with one fellow that used sundown as the point where he could start working again on a Sunday.

The tarsnake of choices in faith

Faith is a tarsnake of its own on such issues. If you want to stay on the path of piety, where do you draw the lines? Recently Cardinal Francis George of Chicago coined the phrase “legal fiction” to describe the idea that same-sex marriage is an invented form of civil right, not in keeping with scriptural tradition.

The ying and yang of faith is its sometimes contradictory nature.

Yet Cardinal George is not dragging his parishioners out in the streets to be stoned to death if, as the Bible says, they are found to be working out on a Sunday. That would mean the entire Chicago Marathon should be lined up and shot for violating scripture if America were to abide by scriptural law.

Legal fiction

So you see, we are not such a Christian nation after all. Nor have we ever been. The “legal fiction” of scripture lies in the fact that we ignore hundreds if not thousands of biblical laws that have been proven outdated. Yet many Americans like to choose certain segments of scripture and claim that America is based on such fundamental understanding of the social order.

But look: We also do not abide by the keeping of slaves (not legally anyway) nor stoning young women to death if they cannot prove their virginity on their wedding night. Those are both advocated as forms of civil conduct in the Bible. But we’ve grown up as a society, haven’t we?

Dedication 

One could argue that the Sunday morning long run or ride is even a form of church, if you go about it right. That feeling of dedicating yourself to a cause is in deed and in thought very similar to other religious rituals. There is an element of sacrifice to the idea of running 20 miles in a sort of prolonged fast. And an 80 mile bike ride strips you bare of many distracting desires. Your mind can’t very well focus on sexual thoughts, for example, when you are pedaling headlong into a stiff headwind (forgive the pun) for 20 miles, desperately clinging to the tail (again, forgive me) of the rider in front of you.

Purification

Our Saturday and Sunday runs and rides are a purification of sorts. We shake off the weekly immersion in work and commuting to do something liberating and frankly selfish, in some respects. It is our way of recovering individuality.

And nothing says you can’t attend church or synagogue or visit the mosque of your choice when you’re done beating yourself to death on the roads or trails. Perhaps we runners and riders know a bit more about faith even than those who turn themselves over in other expressions of piety. We put ourselves to death in some ways before we ever set foot in a place of worship. For keen effort is known to have a humbling effect on the soul, to kill flagrant ego and to grow appreciation for one’s fellow man or woman who shares in the sacrifice.

Sanctification

We may not be abiding by the letter of the law, but it seems the “legal fiction” lies with those who don’t understand that to live in this world is to choose and learn from some form of suffering as a manner of knowing ourselves better. That is sanctification. it would seem, is in keeping with what the Bible and many great religious traditions tell us is the path to truth.

So run on. And ride on. Choose a Saturday or a Sunday if you wish. No one is going to stone you to death for doing a long workout. Just keep it in perspective, and show some gratitude for the ability to enjoy what you love.

God wants us to live life fully, for us all to find peace through good faith and good works. It’s impossible to draw the line on our legal fictions, however, and sometimes it is therefore best to simply follow the line that marks the road ahead. In that direction you’ll soon enough find revelation, hope, understanding and truth.