Word to the Wise
Monday, September 9, 2013 - Monday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[Col 1:24—2:3 and Luke 6:6-11]On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 ST. PETER CLAVER, SJ
This past Saturday, the Gospel of Luke presented us with the first of two Sabbath encounters between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees. You may recall that the first dispute was about the disciples pulling grains of wheat and eating them. The pulling constituted harvesting and was thus considered prohibited labor on the Sabbath. Today we have another Sabbath confrontation and one almost wonders if the man with the withered hand was a "plant," deliberately put in the crowd to create the opportunity - in other words, a trap!
Persons with diseases and physical deformities were often isolated and considered ritually "unclean." They were prohibited from temple worship. By the time the Gospel of Luke was written, the temple had been destroyed and it was synagogue Judaism that survived the disaster. The issue here, then, is not uncleanness but prohibited work. We know that on another occasion, a synagogue official actually points out that there are six other days when healing could and should be done! Jesus' actions turn their world upside down. What DOES the Sabbath mean if Jesus can do these things? This is a good question, even if the murderous reaction is a bad response
How DO we observe the "Sabbath?" Is it different simply because it falls on the weekend? Is it different because we "go to Mass" - even if it is a "Saturday Vigil Mass," or the very latest Mass at the Catholic student center? Do we find it "inconvenient" because it interferes with sports and other leisure-time activities or even with our employment? The scribes and Pharisees represent one extreme in this matter (even if they raise a good question) but perhaps our current cultural Catholicism represents another extreme where worship has to "fit into" our other busy schedules almost as if God has to make an appointment to see us! Maybe we should stop and think about this! AMEN