"The sabbath was made for man..."

Today’s readings: Psalms 104; 149, Isaiah 42:18-43:13, Ephesians 3:14-21, Mark 2:23-3:6

Jesus was constantly reminding the religious leaders of his time that the law was not created to oppress the people. When the Pharisees accused him of violating the Sabbath by picking grain to eat, he told them: “The Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:28) He reminded them that King David ate the bread in the temple when he was starving. The comparison may have been a bit of a stretch, but his point is clear: God’s foremost priority is the people, not the law. While it may be clear to us that picking a handful of grain for the moment’s enjoyment is qualitatively different than working a day in the field, the Pharisees made no such distinction between the letter and spirit of the law.

On the other hand, as Jesus tried to put the law into perspective, he at no time dismissed it wholesale. He never claimed the Sabbath was made for humankind…  to ignore. Christians should remember this when we consider whether faith absolves us of any particular obligations. We are eager to hear the message we are not slaves to the law, and we should just as eagerly receive Christ’s words about our responsibilities to justice and mercy. American culture is particularly prone to establishing rights, but how would we react to any proposed Bill of Responsibilities? Freedom is only one side of the coin. Despite our freedom – or maybe even because of it – Jesus clearly has expectations of our behavior; we are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned (Matt 25:31-46). Because the spirit is more important than the letter, this is not a simple checklist but a starting point. Freedom can be a wild creature; fortunately God gave each of us a brain, and we need to use it to rein in our fredom toward his service.

Like the Sabbath or the law, Jesus’ teachings were tools given to humankind. We depend on them to do our job as Christians. As with any good tools, we must learn to use them properly. To master them, not only do we have to read the manual, we have to apply them in the real world, and gain experience to know how they handle in action. A plumber isn’t a slave to his wrenches, but he isn’t much of a plumber without them.

Freedom from the law is a gift, but it is a gift we must use responsibly.


Evening reading: Psalms 138; 98