Readings
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Psalm 81:1-10
2 Corinthians 4:5-12
Mark 2:23-3:6
The difficulty with Gospel passages like the one we have today is that, for many of us, the words are so familiar that we can easily gloss them and miss just how shocking and jarring they would have been to those who first heard them, and to us, if we take time to unpack what Jesus is actually saying.
The question in today’s Gospel is one of sabbath observance. The rule regarding observing the sabbath was a big deal for ancient Israel. It is at the heart of what it means to be a faithful and devout Jew. And so, when others observe Jesus’ followers gleaning wheat kernels to eat on the sabbath there is a genuine concern about their behavior.
Jesus’ response, however, is one of incredulity and he challenges them not only about the disciples’ behavior, but his own regarding healing on the sabbath. He justifies his and his disciples’ behavior by specifically saying “Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.”
Now this is no small thing. Even though many of us no longer have a genuine sabbath observance, the idea of taking rest on a regular basis is central to both Jewish and Christian tradition.
To paraphrase the great Jewish historian, Philo, the prohibition of work on the sabbath is intended to give us relaxation from continuous unending toil. Its intent is to refresh us for the work which we must do in order to survive.
All of this is to say that, while the reality of our lives is toil, it is God’s good intention that we also receive blessing. It is, in fact, God’s intention that we delight in all that is good in creation and in the one who created it.
So, where’s the pinch? What’s the issue?
Well, by the time of Jesus, the rules regarding Sabbath observance had proliferated into a complex and demanding reality, one which could be abused to determine whether someone was in right relationship to God or not. It had become a system which could be onerous rather than a relief.
It is into this reality that Jesus steps. And it is into this reality he speaks.
When we look at the whole of his public ministry and teaching, for Jesus rules are not meant to be followed for their own sake. And, at times, rules can be used for purposes other than what they were created for. Jesus, in challenging the sabbath rule, is pointing out that the whole point of our existence is to be in relationship to God and not simply blind followers of the rules.
For Jesus relationships, our relationships to one another and our relationship to God, are far more important than the rules. In the end the sacredness of life and of our relationship to God must win out, no matter how noble our intentions in regard to the rules we establish.
Now, does that mean the rules are unimportant? No, not in the least. Jesus did not abolish the sabbath rule, he simply put it in its proper context. Whether looking to relieve the hunger of his followers or to offer healing to those in need, he places the greater good ahead of a rigid observance of the rule.
Now let us be clear. This is a radical idea. Jesus is radically changing how we practice our faith in God and how we function socially. He is asking us to not simply follow the rules, but rather to make our relationship to one another and our relationship to God paramount above all else. You know, It is much easier to have codes of moral conduct and rules for inclusion and exclusion than it is to constantly be living in a way that seeks out God in the other and seeks the good of the another above all other considerations.
And before we are too quick to condemn the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, we would do well to recognize that after 2000+ years of church development, we contemporary Christians have become the modern-day equivalent of those Pharisees. Many of us, myself included from time to time, are quick to judge and to condemn those who do not abide by our sense of the right, our sense of how we should behave.
What would our reaction be if Jesus came into our midst proclaiming the radical message he does in today’s Gospel? How might we feel if Jesus were to run roughshod over whatever we consider definitive of Christian conduct, even when we find it in the Bible? Are we any less outraged by unmitigated forgiveness or fraternizing with notorious traitors, outcasts, and the flagrantly wicked, without demanding that they first clean up their acts?
No, we are being called to a way of being that is as radical and as challenging today as it was two millennia ago. While we are not being asked to “throw the baby out with the bathwater,” but we are being challenged to put the rules in their proper place and context. We are being called to be a people who place the wellbeing of others above our own. We are being called to redefine our relationship to God by how we relate to others.
And to do so will not make us popular with some people. In fact, to do so will make us suspect in the eyes of some of our brothers and sisters who claim the moniker of “Christian.” But that cannot stop us. If we are to be an alternative to the broken system in which we live, then we must function in an alternative way. We must create space for the well-being of all people. We must be about the work of forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, and wholeness. We must be the living presence of Christ for those around us.
If we do then we will find ourselves in the Kingdom which Christ proclaimed. We will find ourselves in a place of abundant life. We ourselves will be transformed and will witness the transformation of the world. The Lord of the Sabbath will come to us and we will know his grace and joy.