Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 5, 2015 - Saturday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[Col 1:21-23 and Luke 6:1-5]SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 SATURDAY IN THE TWENTY-SECOND WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME [Colossians 1:21-23 and Luke 6:1-5] "The Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath." [Luke] After taking what seemed to be a casual attitude toward prayer and fasting [at least in the rather public form practiced by the Pharisees], Jesus now seems to strike at the very heart of Jewish life: the observance of the sabbath. The action of his disciples in pulling grain and rubbing in their hands before eating them constituted "work" in the eyes of the Pharisees. Jesus responds on two levels. The first level is the story of King David eating the very bread used in the temple. This gave an example of hunger prevailing over religious observance. The second level is more serious. Jesus claims authority over what is sacred. He claims to be "lord of the sabbath." Earlier, in chapter five, Jesus showed power over illnesses and demons, claimed to forgive sins, showed power over nature (the big catch of fish) and now he has confronted the religious authority of Judaism! This is quite a profile, and there is more to come. It might be a useful exercise to put ourselves in the position of someone healed, or of someone being called to follow him, or someone dedicated to Jewish observance like the Pharisees. In all of these positions, what do we make of this Jesus of Nazareth? He is disturbing our lives and culture. Or is it that in our own times we take him for granted and he has little impact? AMEN