Ordinary Time

Pause

Sabbath \ SA – bihth \ noun

A special day of resting that we think we’re bigger than, even though God is not.

from Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (2008)

Listen

He said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he was in need, when he and those with him were hungry? During the time when Abiathar was high priest, David went into God’s house and ate the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. He also gave bread to those who were with him.” Then he said, “The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath. This is why the Human One is Lord even over the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:25-28

Think

“The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath.” There should be a “fire” emoji after that line from Jesus! That was a serious mic-drop moment. The legalistic roots of our faith tradition are not designed to restrict us into someone else’s understanding of what a life of faith looks like. Instead, we are to experience the grace of God through Jesus Christ even more fully through our attempts at faithful living. So when the rules of a faith community become more important than the love of God, things are clearly out of whack, according to Jesus.

This seems pretty clear, but in practice things get tougher! Here’s a good check for us all when struggling with the right thing to do regarding Sabbath: ask yourself, “Will following this path bring me closer to being the person God has created me to be, or will it further separate me from love, community, and God?”

Tony Vincent

Pray

Creating God, you have made me in your image to tell, with every part of my being, of your love and grace. Let all that I am tell that beautiful, grace-filled story today! Amen.

Go

Words of life, words of hope
give us strength, help us cope;
in this world where’er we roam
God’s ancient words will guide us home.

from “Ancient Words” by Lynn Deshazo (2001)