Don’t you hate it when you know you’re right and find out you’re wrong anyway?
“But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’”
This synagogue leader knew he was right. “Who is this rabbi to come into my synagogue and call me a hypocrite? This commandment is one of the Big Ten, for Christ’s sake…” God’s law clearly stated that one day out of seven people were to cease from work. This Sabbath commandment is one of the wisest of God’s gifts to us – not only does a day off allow people to recharge, even work animals get some rest. Servants get a break. The whole economy slows down (omg!) for one day a week, a day to be set aside for community, for worship, reflection, walks, meals, conversations – anything unproductive and lifegiving. It is a day devoted to freedom.
Yet most of us would agree that Jesus is more right than the synagogue leader. He pushes the leader’s logic to its illogical conclusion. Of course people feed and water their animals even on the Sabbath, or haul their sheep out of wells, an example Jesus gives in a similar argument elsewhere. If we do farm chores, or rescue valuable livestock, why wouldn’t we heal and bless people on God’s special day?
When we try to live by “the rules,” it often turns out we’ve focused on one rule to the exclusion of another, or we haven’t looked at the implications for other people of our adherence to that rule. A huge part of Jesus’ message was that all the systems we set up to regulate our lives need to be checked against the greater commandment to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. He doesn’t toss out the whole Law – he tries to correct misinterpretations of the Law which result in a brittle, legalistic, condemning religious system instead of a living faith in a loving God.
It is in the nature of religious systems to become brittle, legalistic and condemning if we are not constantly open to the fresh winds of the Spirit. When we lock into any one interpretation, we close off opportunities for God to lead us to new ministries, new people, new blessings. The action of God as we see it in Christ’s life, and in the lives of Christ’s followers since his resurrection, is usually across boundaries of difference, often into zones of slight discomfort – that’s where we learn who God is. That’s a lifetime’s learning. Maybe an eternal lifetime’s learning.
Where are your beliefs are more rigid, and where they are more pliable? What are the “codes” or “contracts” by which you live? Did those actually come from God?
There’s a fine line between conviction and dogmatism. We might say that line is faith, which is a living affirmation of what we deeply believe but can never be absolutely sure of. Once we know it, it’s not faith. Jesus invites us into a living, growing, doubting, testing, adventurous, loving life of faith in the unseen yet present God. Where is he challenging you today?
This synagogue leader knew he was right. “Who is this rabbi to come into my synagogue and call me a hypocrite? This commandment is one of the Big Ten, for Christ’s sake…” God’s law clearly stated that one day out of seven people were to cease from work. This Sabbath commandment is one of the wisest of God’s gifts to us – not only does a day off allow people to recharge, even work animals get some rest. Servants get a break. The whole economy slows down (omg!) for one day a week, a day to be set aside for community, for worship, reflection, walks, meals, conversations – anything unproductive and lifegiving. It is a day devoted to freedom.
Yet most of us would agree that Jesus is more right than the synagogue leader. He pushes the leader’s logic to its illogical conclusion. Of course people feed and water their animals even on the Sabbath, or haul their sheep out of wells, an example Jesus gives in a similar argument elsewhere. If we do farm chores, or rescue valuable livestock, why wouldn’t we heal and bless people on God’s special day?
When we try to live by “the rules,” it often turns out we’ve focused on one rule to the exclusion of another, or we haven’t looked at the implications for other people of our adherence to that rule. A huge part of Jesus’ message was that all the systems we set up to regulate our lives need to be checked against the greater commandment to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. He doesn’t toss out the whole Law – he tries to correct misinterpretations of the Law which result in a brittle, legalistic, condemning religious system instead of a living faith in a loving God.
It is in the nature of religious systems to become brittle, legalistic and condemning if we are not constantly open to the fresh winds of the Spirit. When we lock into any one interpretation, we close off opportunities for God to lead us to new ministries, new people, new blessings. The action of God as we see it in Christ’s life, and in the lives of Christ’s followers since his resurrection, is usually across boundaries of difference, often into zones of slight discomfort – that’s where we learn who God is. That’s a lifetime’s learning. Maybe an eternal lifetime’s learning.
Where are your beliefs are more rigid, and where they are more pliable? What are the “codes” or “contracts” by which you live? Did those actually come from God?
There’s a fine line between conviction and dogmatism. We might say that line is faith, which is a living affirmation of what we deeply believe but can never be absolutely sure of. Once we know it, it’s not faith. Jesus invites us into a living, growing, doubting, testing, adventurous, loving life of faith in the unseen yet present God. Where is he challenging you today?
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