Gospel: John 5: 1-16
Once again we find Jesus healing someone on the Sabbath, and once again the religious authorities of the day protest this action. They argue that to heal someone on the Sabbath is an act of work that goes against the law of not working on the Sabbath day. So, once again, rather than rejoicing in the good fortune of the man who has been cured of his ailment, the religious authorities are upset at him and at Jesus for this act of healing and mercy.
The religious authorities then and now forget the actual purpose of the Sabbath day. It is in itself a day of healing and restoration. Six days of labor take a toll on body and soul. The Sabbath day is designed to heal both body and spirit. Rather than violating the law, Jesus in fact acts in the best tradition of the Sabbath day in what was intended for people to experience - refreshment, rest, and healing of body, mind, and spirit.
When religious authorities perseverate on the minutia of Sabbath observance - what is work, what is not - and when they repeatedly seek to find fault with anything and everything others do - they themselves violate the Sabbath. For now it becomes not a day of rest and healing for body, mind, and spirit, but rather one of pain and difficulty, just like the other days of the week. May all our days be ones where we seek to heal others in body, mind, and spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment