Word to the Wise
Monday, October 27, 2008 - Monday in the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
[Ephesians 4:32 - 5:8 and Luke 13:10-17]Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?
Every pastor knows that there are times when Church law can get in the way of doing the very things the Church is designed to do! There may be very good reasons for a particular rule or custom, but occasionally circumstances present themselves that clearly call for a flexible response that does not deny the law but responds to a higher value! We call this epikeia - a Greek word that roughly translates to "equity" or "fairness." The rule against work on the sabbath had a holy purpose but it was not meant to prevent such a healing that Jesus performed on the woman in the gospel today! To make the contrast even greater, Jesus refers to the fact that the very strict Pharisees themselves had to take care of their domestic animals on the sabbath. Were they ranking those animals ahead of their sister in faith ("this Daughter of Abraham")? This incident is a challenge to us to keep the purpose for any restrictions on compassion very clear and very minimal! Otherwise we create a cold institution instead of a warm community. AMEN
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