God
has now reconciled you in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death, to
present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, provided that
you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the
hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature
under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister. Colossians 1:22-23
Jesus
said to them in reply, “Have you not read what David did when he and those who
were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of
offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared
it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the
sabbath.” Luke
6:3-5
Piety
I
danced in the morning when the world was young
I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun
I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all, wherever you may be
And I lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees
They wouldn't dance, they wouldn't follow me
I danced for the fishermen James and John
They came with me so the dance went on
I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun
I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all, wherever you may be
And I lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees
They wouldn't dance, they wouldn't follow me
I danced for the fishermen James and John
They came with me so the dance went on
(“Lord of the
Dance” by Sydney Carter)
Study
St. Luke retells many of the same stories
that we hear in the other two synoptic Gospels.
However, rather than ending stories with symbolic
The apparent meaning overrules much of
ancient Mosaic Law. Jesus argues that
satisfying human needs such as hunger and performing works of mercy take
precedence even over the rules dictating how to commemorate the sacred sabbath
rest. The law was NEVER meant to keep
hungry people hungry. This also goes
beyond the literal interpretation and the way of thinking at the time. Jesus cannot profane the Sabbath. Jesus is the Sabbath!
Jesus sees the Sabbath as a gift from God to
humanity – something to be of service to us.[i] The idea of the Sabbath to me is that’s when
we are supposed to set aside everything that gets in the way and surrender our
egos to God’s presence. Jesus is that
gift of God’s presence.
Why does this matter? The Sabbath was everything to the Jewish people. Life and worship revolved around preparing
for the sundown and behavior that was reserved for the sabbath or forbidden
during the Sabbath. Now we learn that
this peripatetic preacher equates himself with the sabbath. A whole new life and world will emerge when
this Proclamation sinks in. The Pharisees and scribes no longer call the
shots. Love calls the shots. What Jesus said in the temple, on the plain,
on the side of the mountain and on the banks of the river, brings new meaning
and new life to his people. Without blemish.
Nothing comes in the way of this Word.
It is…Irreproachable. Firmly
Grounded. Not shifting from hope.
Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. Not through the Pharisees. Not through the Romans. Not through the temple. Not through the family. Only through faith, firmly grounded in Jesus.
Action
Is
the Sabbath everything to us? The role of Great Proclaimer did not end on the
Cross. We are now the Sabbath-keepers
(and lighthouse keepers). St. Paul urges
our obedience to Christ in faith and begins to point to his own role as
minister, sufferer, and proclaim-er of this gospel. Those roles now come to us. As one writer put it:
In
today’s society the Sabbath is hard to keep, because there are so many demands
on our time, so many expectations on the part of others that we be available
for them 24/7. And the consequences of breaking the Sabbath appear to be
small. But they’re not. As CS Lewis once said, “Joy is the serious
business of heaven.” Sabbath-keeping is how we prepare for that.
Who is leading you in the Dance? How do you measure up…like a Pharisee or like
James and John and Peter? Christ is
counting on you.
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