THE
SABBATH CANNOT SET BOUNDARIES
ON THE LAW OF LOVE
ON THE LAW OF LOVE
In the Gospel of Luke we read that when Jesus encountered an
elderly woman who was spent of her strength and unable to stand upright, He
gave her words of faith and freedom and restored her to health. She must have
suffered much, both physically and spiritually, for eighteen years of her life.
She was bound by evil.
Jesus demonstrates the power of God's Kingdom in releasing
people who are oppressed by physical and emotional sickness, by personal
weakness and sin. Jesus released her from all this pain and suffering. The
religious leaders were indignant that Christ would perform such a miraculous
work on the Sabbath, on such a holy day. They were caught up in their ritual
observance of the Sabbath that they lost sight of our heavenly Father's mercy
and goodness. Jesus healed on the Sabbath because God does not rest from
showing His mercy and love - ever. God's Word has the power to change us
spiritually, physically, and emotionally. We just need to listen to His Word!
In another place in Scripture, Jesus is reported to have said
that the Law was created for people, not people for the Law (Cf Mk 2:27). This
is a principle that Jesus observes consistently. He has no hesitation
whatsoever when He heals this woman. In doing so, He indicates that the Sabbath
was the very best time for healing her since the Sabbath was a time dedicated
totally to the things of God.
The Gospels always give us a cause for thought. Perhaps we
should examine our religious hypocrisy and our self-righteousness. St. Paul
also reports the teaching and the example of Jesus Christ, "Be kind to one
another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has for forgiven you in
Christ," and, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in
the Lord" (Eph 4:32; 5:38). We must then "Live as children of
light" (Eph 5:8).
Use today's Responsorial Psalm as your prayer, "Behave like
God as His very dear children" (Eph 5:1).