Open Hand / Clenched Fists

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Open Hand / Clenched Fists

Artist not found

Some things ought to be too big to miss. However, when political control is the issue the biggest things can be forgotten, or dismissed. The path to power becomes the Devil's playground, multiplying details and dismissing Truth. When Jesus plunged his light saber into the hearts of the Pharisees he forced them to face the forgotten obvious. The point of his question was:

Is God’s intention in his Law to ignore the needs of others on the Sabbath?

Any thinking Pharisee should have remembered these words:

Love God…Love your neighbor.

In fact, the Ten Commandments summarize those categories. Many laws, including the Sabbath laws, involved humane treatment for both mankind and animals.

At this point some of those present should have made a connection with the strangeness of Jesus’ earlier remark about David’s men eating the priest’s bread. They may have struggled with the “inconsistency” between that event and an instance when God struck down a man who touched the Ark of the Covenant to keep it from falling. What Jesus revealed about his Sabbath intention exposed the difference. God overlooked the misuse of ceremonial bread to meet the hunger needs of men fleeing from their enemy - and his. However, he did not overlook the consequences of mishandling a situation which violated clearly stated protocol and involved no human need.

Whether anyone saw it or not, there it was! The Lord of the Sabbath identified his heart with regard to the keeping of the Sabbath. He expected his people to do the right thing and, sometimes the right thing had to do with doing good when good needed to be done and could be done. To meet a neighbor's real need was well within the scope of the day of rest. Indeed, it brought rest.