The Second Sunday after Pentecost ---- 3 June 2018

Mark 2:23--3:6

23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

3:1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath…

·       These two stories of Sabbath controversy come quite early in the Gospel of Mark. Their placement show that they are important to Mark’s message.

·       Common wisdom takes these stories as challenges to the keeping of the Sabbath. The commandment forbids work on the Sabbath because on the seventh day “God rested.”  Jesus healing a man with a withered hand or the disciples gathering grain might appear to be breaking the Sabbath when such work was deemed forbidden by the commandment. Jesus then uses Scripture to show that what was done was not against the will of God, but was completely in tune with the will of God.

·       When it comes to the commandment regarding the Sabbath, we may have to change our focus as well. If work is forbidden on the Sabbath, why is work forbidden? The simple answer is “Because God said so.” Then comes the real question: Why did God say so?

·       The Sabbath was initiated for human rest and this applied to servants, aliens, visitors, and even the farm animals. It reminds all who “keep holy the Sabbath” that all time and space belongs to God. Worship on the Sabbath adds to the sacredness of the day.

·       So what about plucking grain, or healing the broken, or rescuing people (or animals) in danger or trouble?

·       It appears that rabbinical teaching always supported this sort of thing on the Sabbath. Jesus was completely within Jewish teaching and understanding when he said The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath… Some of the demands of the Law might be set aside to uphold greater values or greater needs, in particular if those needs promote well-being and participate in divine blessings. The Sabbath was there to promote life and uphold God as the liberator, the one who brought the people out of slavery. Seen in the right light, the entire Law could be an instrument of liberation. It could become a burden when the reason for its existence and its values were forgotten and only the demand of the Law were remembered.

·       The Pharisees were upset and we might think that this was because of Jesus’ disregard for what was lawful on the Sabbath. Both He and they knew the Law; it was the Pharisees’ specialty and Jesus was a rabbi. The Pharisees would know what Jesus was talking about, so they might not have been as upset as we might think when it came to keeping the Law.

·       What Jesus said doesn’t seem to upset them as much as the fact that he said it. His teaching threatened their place as guardians of the Law and the purest of the pure. The Law was theirs’ and they could use it with all the rules and regulations to control people. Remember when they accused Jesus of eating with prostitutes and sinners? Who the prostitutes were might be obvious, but the “sinners” were often those who were too poor, too uneducated, or too involved in the “wrong” job to keep the Law in its entirety. They were sinners because they couldn’t afford to be righteous, not because they’d done something specifically sinful. In contrast, the so-called righteous kept the letter of the Law, but often violated the spirit. They also decided who was righteous, who was acceptable, who was “in” and who was “out.” They got to draw the borders. Jesus threatened that and so they went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

·       Years ago, I asked one of my seminary professors how I could now if I loved God. He responded “Keep the commandments.” And what did Jesus say was the greatest of the commandments? ‘The first is… “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

·       Today, in Christ, we are freed from the rules and regulation of the Law and we are free to love God and our neighbors. It is the greatest commandment and a tough one to keep, yet we can – in the grace of God and the power of the Holy Sprit.

·       I hope our worship, our keeping of a day of rest – a Sabbath, our hearing the Word together free us to keep this commandment… for ourselves and for the world around us.

The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”