Psalm ,145: 17-15.19-20.2 I,
Luke 6:1-5 Full Readings
Law and Mercy
Today's Gospel presents to us Jesus giving the true meaning of Sabbath. After the Apostles picked the ears of corn and ate them on Sabbath, the Pharisees blamed them for working on Sabbath for it was prohibited but Jesus responds to them that He desires mercy not sacrifice and that the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.
One of the ways in which Jesus spread the kingdom and it's true meaning was through unveiling the characters of some Jewish groups of people like the Pharisees and scribes. These people took the law from God and made it a burden to others and themselves they would not follow them. Today, he challenges them on the law of Sabbath
The Sabbath commandment to rest was from God. But the commandment to rest was not a requirement for its own sake. This was not some legal requirement that somehow honored God just by strictly keeping it. The Sabbath rest was primarily a gift from God to humanity in that God knew we needed rest and rejuvenation. He knew we needed time each week to slow down, offer special worship to God and enjoy the company of others. But the Pharisees turned the Sabbath rest into a burden. They made it out to be a strict legalistic observance that did nothing to glorify God or refresh the human spirit. However, today many people have started misusing Sabbath which is extreme. Sabbath should be kept holy.
One key truth we can learn from this passage is that God calls us to interpret His law through the eyes of mercy. Mercy always refreshes us, lifts us up and fills us with new energy. It motivates us to worship and fills us with hope. Mercy does not impose a heavy legalistic burden upon us; rather, God’s mercy and law together rejuvenates us and refreshes us.
In addition, the law should be interpreted with love and in the spirit of serving God and His people. It's not enough to just take the law strictly even at the point of risking life and violating human dignity but going the extra mile of doing the will of God and taking serving God faithfully and His people as the priority in accordance with the law. Provided we are doing the will of God, we are following the law.
In their hunger, David and his men ate of the holy bread offered in the Temple (1 Samuel 21:2-7). On every Sabbath morning twelves loaves were laid before God on a golden table in the Holy Place. Each loaf represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. No one was allowed to eat this bread except the priests because it represented the very presence of God. David understood that human need took precedence over rules and ritual regulations. If they had not eaten the bread they would die of hunger and this loss of life. God's law should be of life promotion, restoration and fostering (this is what mercy means), this is why God desires mercy not sacrifice.
Reflect today on how you interpret the law of God. Do you interpret it in love and mercy? Do you keep the Sabbath Holy but with loving and serving God and His people in mind. Pray today that the Holy Spirit will keep enlightening you to interpret the law of God rightly.
Let us Pray
May your Spirit Lord guide me always to know you more and thus love you more by following your law in the right way. Amen.
Be blessed
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