Scripture: Luke 14:1-4
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to share a meal in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely. A man suffering from an abnormal swelling of the body was there. Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Does the Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?” But they said nothing. Jesus took hold of the sick man, cured him, and then let him go.
Thought for the Day: Do you see a pattern within Luke? Here we are once again watching Jesus being invited into the home of a Pharisee for a meal, and alongside that noteworthy invitation is this third healing on the Sabbath according to Luke. The question Jesus asked is really seeking to understand the purpose of ritual. “Does the Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?” In general, the answer is that a person is not to work on the Sabbath. We are to set aside all other things, and find rest with God one day each week. But the Law had exceptions to the rules, and that included healing on the Sabbath if it was life-threatening. The ancient Jewish scholarship (Mishnah) went on to suggest that whenever there is doubt in regard to whether it is a life-threatening situation or not, care and compassion override the Sabbath Law. How have we lost sight of care and compassion at the expense of ritual? How do we hold so tightly to tradition that we forget what the tradition taught us to do? These are questions that every generation needs to ask itself, even when the potential answers cause discomfort.
Prayer: May the traditions and rituals of the faith shape me, O God, to be a more faithful follower of Jesus. May they be understood as necessary tools for the life of love, and never the actual product of the faith. Amen.
SEE YOU TOMORROW
