Word to the Wise
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 - Wednesday in the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Sam 17:32-33, 37, 40-51 and Mark 3:1-6]"Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" [Mark]
JANUARY 17 ST. ANTHONY, abbot
Although this scene is part of the broader picture of mounting opposition to Jesus' preaching and ministry on the part of the Jewish religious authorities - scribes and Pharisees and Herodians - there is a valuable point to be made. The purpose of the law regarding the sabbath is a good one, but it can be frustrated by a juridical rigidity. It is true that Jesus could have waited until the Sabbath was over since the man with the withered hand was not in danger of death. The Pharisees even allowed for extreme circumstances. But the way in which they interpreted the law prevented any other good from occurring, which would put them in the position of approving evil on the Sabbath!!!
I have encountered this question numerous times in pastoral life. Someone will say that they inadvertently ate or drank something within an hour of receiving communion and felt that they could not go to communion. I would have to tell them that the purpose of the regulation is to promote devotion, not to prevent a person from going to communion. Casual disregard of this observance is not good, but when it is not a matter of disregard, the value of receiving communion far exceeds the value of an hour's spiritual preparation. Those of us who lived before 1955 or earlier can remember the regulation that required fasting from midnight!!!
The role of law in the Body of Christ requires wisdom and prudence in its observance. Mere literal enforcement can lead to evil being done in the name of law!!! AMEN