Is Resting on the Sabbath Overrated?...
Sometimes, truth is revealed in the most unlikely of places. Sometimes, we find truth in exactly the opposite place where we think we would find it. In the hard sayings of Jesus, we grapple with the things that Jesus said that are difficult to understand…..sayings like “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34-36). Sayings like “if you want to be my disciple; you must hate your mother and father and sister and brother.” (Luke 14:26). Those statements are not consistent with the Jesus we thought we knew; that’s what makes them hard sayings. Is it possible that statements which appear to be exactly opposite of the truth can turn out to be precisely what we need to hear? The scripture passage in Luke 13:10-17, seems to say exactly that. (Please take a few minutes and read this short passage of scripture). Let’s look at a piece of the scripture more closely.
It is a Saturday morning in the Jewish synagogue, the Sabbath day for Jews, and Jesus is teaching the multitudes, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a crippled woman appears. Stooping at the waist, hunched over like a candy cane, she had been this way for 18 years. She doesn’t ask Jesus for anything, she doesn’t beg Him for a miracle, like so many of the New Testament figures do. She just appears there, her twisted, crooked self. But Jesus felt compassion for her and calls her to come up to the front of the synagogue, and He placed His hands on her. “Woman, you are free from your ailment.” And immediately, the woman stood up straight, something she had not been able to do for 18 years, and she began to praise God. (Luke 13:13).
Many of the people cheered the healing. They had witnessed a bona fide miracle, and they rejoiced with the woman. But the leader of the synagogue, the senior rabbi, was upset. Not because the woman was healed, but because she had been healed on the Sabbath. The Jews had rules, strict rules, about these things.
For example, they were not allowed to carry anything in their hands, with the palms of their hands in the upward position. They were not allowed to cook; Saturday’s meals were cooked on Friday. They were not allowed to sell anything; they could not buy anything. These are just a few of the Sabbath rules. There were just as many exceptions as there were rules and only the local rabbi knew for sure what was forbidden and what was allowed.
So, when Jesus saw the woman who had suffered for 18 years, it never occurred to Him that by healing her and relieving her of humiliation and pain would break some cosmic regulation. If a person is hurting you help them. If a person is handicapped, you heal them never mind that it is the Sabbath day.
But the rabbi disagreed. Why, pretty soon, the markets will be open on the Sabbath and people will begin to buy and sell their goods. Restaurants will be open and pharmacies will sell their home remedies and so on……we can’t have that! So, the rabbi confronted the woman that Jesus had healed and said “It would be more convenient for us if you would come on another morning for your miracle, because today is the Sabbath, and I am sure that Jesus would prefer to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy.”
But now, it was Jesus’ turn to react. “You hypocrites!” He said. “You give your donkeys water on the Sabbath. That’s work! You lift food to your mouths. That’s work! But when a poor crippled woman is freed up from a life of pain, you call that a sin?” Hypocrites, indeed!
Who knew rest could be so important? Who knew what our society would become if we failed to set aside hours or days to let our bodies rest, and let our minds be refreshed by slowing down the pace of our lives? God knew. All along, God knew. It was He who created the cosmos in six days and rested on the seventh. If God chose to rest after six days of work, then who do we think we are? You see, God established the Sabbath as an example….a time when His creation would slow down, take a breath, and be renewed for the week ahead. We need to take rest and leisure much more seriously……..God did! So, what will you be doing on the Sabbath day, resting I hope- AMEN
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)