Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath
Tuesday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus, in our Gospel today is reminding the Pharisees about the original and true meaning of the Commandment of God on the Sabbath: “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” The Sabbath rest is given by God as a provision for the welfare of God’s creatures and not a law that enslaves and ignores their needs. Christ declares the sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing. The sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God. The Catechism says, “human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.” This is also reechoed in today’s First Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews when it says: “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve…” God is aware of how we have been doing our best to be faithful in living the Commandments. Our faithful actions and active service will not be forgotten by the Lord.
According to a Biblical scholar, the issue in today’s Gospel revolves around the definition of ‘work’ that violates the Sabbath rest. Merely abstaining from work is not a guarantee that one is observing the Sabbath and thus honoring God. To spy on other people’s whereabouts and catching them in error, as the Pharisees did in the Gospel, can hardly be regarded as observance of this sacred time. Our Lord Jesus thus reminded the Pharisees about God’s original intention for the Sabbath.
Brothers and sisters, God’s action is our model for human action. As the catechism teaches, “If God ‘rested and was refreshed’ on the seventh day, man too ought to ‘rest’ and should let others, especially the poor, ‘be refreshed.’ The Sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.” Jesus leads all of us to the very root of the Commandment: balance our life of work and rest in order to devote sacred time for God, for ourselves, for our families, and for our brothers and sisters in need. Let this Eucharistic celebration be a moment of encountering the Lord of the Sabbath and allow Him to sanctify our daily works and bring them to completion aware that we are doing them for His greater glory and in turn will lead us to sanctification.
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