DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

One Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched Him to see whether He would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him. Even though He knew what they were thinking, He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to scribes and Pharisees, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” After looking around at all of them, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. But the scribes and the Pharisees were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. – Luke 6:6-11

Such an irrational reaction to a man being healed, to react with fury, fear and disdain!

One can be so obsessed with defending doctrine that one loses its essence and its purpose.  The original law was to rest on the Sabbath, to devote it to the Lord and not to one’s own personal gain.  The original law was to not become enslaved solely as a worker for a worldly master but to be more than this … to live lives that are more than one’s industrial worth.  But by the time of Christ, the scribes and the Pharisees were caught up in the making and keeping of rules, to the debating of the details at the sacrifice of the Divine intention.

I think we as Christian community seem to repeatedly fall victim to the folly of the scribes and Pharisees.  Over and over we slaughtered the Goodness and the Love out of zealotry for this or that.  Sometimes it is over a detail of doctrine; sometimes it is over a moral specific.  And as a result … we subconsciously or unconsciously and almost unintentionally plots schemes to circumvent Christ’s teaching and example.  Yes … we keep doing it for it is how our mortal sinfulness confounds God’s ways and wishes.

Is it holy and acceptable to heal on the Sabbath?  The answer is yes!

Is it holy and acceptable to plot treachery on the Sabbath?  The answer is no!

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz