Jesus was walking on a Sabbath day through the grain fields,
and his disciples began, as they walked along, to pluck the ears of grain. The
Pharisees said to him, “Why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
He said to them, “Did you never read what David did, when he
had need, and was hungry? He entered into God’s house, and ate the sacred
bread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave also to
those who were with him?” He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
There was a man with a withered right hand, and the scribes and Pharisees
watched to see if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath, and they could accuse
him. Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man, “Rise up, and stand in the
middle.” Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on
the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” He looked
around at them all with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to
the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored as sound as
the other. They were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what
they might do to Jesus.
Reflection
One of the 10 commandments is to honor
the Sabbath as a day of rest. In Jesus’ day, this had become an obsession about
refraining from anything that could be called work. Jesus said people had
missed the point entirely: a day of rest was a gift of God, not a burden. Do
you observe a day of rest or are you more likely to feel guilty if you’re not
doing something productive? What do you find most restful? What feeds your
soul?
Prayer:
Slow me down, Lord, and help me find the peace and rest you created me to have.
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