Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath
Mark 2:23-28
Vs 28 “… So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”   
William Barclay once wrote: “The best way to worship God is to help men” Today’s passage describes a clash between Jesus and the Pharisees; it is not over whether to observe the Sabbath but over how to observe it. Pharisees argued no one should do any work during the Sabbath but Jesus said “The Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath” St. Mark 2:27. Jesus, says that the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath, and as he does so, Jesus is referring to himself. Jesus redefines the importance of Sabbath. The Sabbath is for exercising compassion and love.

Sabbath is for extending compassion. The Pharisees said to Jesus, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? "On the Sabbath, the disciples were picking grain and rubbing the grain in their hands. The Pharisees declared that such actions were considered work and the violation of God’s law not to work on the Sabbath. This is a wonderful illustration of how degenerated a good religion can become. God extends His compassion for sustenance and restoration of the world.

Sabbath is for spreading God’s love.Jesus replied to Pharisees, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence" (v.26).  In Jesus, God shows us that the core of authentic human life is love. The person who loves, Paul wrote, fulfills the law. We could say that the only reason the law of God exists is to point us toward the life of love. To love is to enter into the divine fellowship of the Holy Spirit, to dwell in the eternal love of the Father for the Son and of the Son for the Father. God loves all people, even the ones we have no use for, the ones we treat as though they don’t matter.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, help us to extend compassion and love during Sabbath. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
To live well is to work well, to show a good activity. – Thomas Aquinas
Rev. Biju Simon, Austin Mar Thoma Church, Texas 
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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