[stephenkhoo]

05 SEPTEMBER 2015, Saturday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

JESUS THE MASTER OF THE SABBATH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: COL 1:21-23; LK 6:1-5

When we read today’s scripture readings, we cannot but envy the freedom of Jesus in the way He lived his life.  Although, supposedly a Rabbi, He was not tied down to the laws of Judaism that could kill His spontaneity and joy. This was certainly the case of St Paul as well.  He too was convinced that he was preaching the Good News.  His faith in Christ him a liberating joy.

In contrast, many of us who are believers do at times, some more than others, feel the burden of the institutionalization of religion.  We feel obliged to fulfill all the laws of our religion.  Indeed, in the Catholic Church for the Latin Rite itself, we have more than 1750 laws!  And if we were to include the rules such as liturgical rules etc we would have a few hundred more.  In trying to fulfill these laws perfectly, we either are reduced to a nervous wretch or a self-righteous person.

But more than these, instead of us becoming the enemies of God as Paul tells us in the first reading, we will regard God as our enemy and a foreigner to us.  This is so because we feel that we are obeying all these laws simply to appease Him and to please Him.  We do so because we fear His wrath.  In such a situation, God becomes our competitor; and fulfillment of the laws becomes our utility to win Him over.  Consequently, religion becomes Bad News.

But true religion is good news.  True religion reconciles man with God; man with man and with himself.  This is what Paul tells us in the first reading.  Jesus is our reconciler through death to Himself.  Hence true religion is called Faith because it enhances our relationship with God, others and with self.  Such a faith relationship makes us live a holy, pure and blameless life.

Within this context, we can now understand why Jesus could bend or rather perfect the observance of the Sabbath law.  For the purpose of the Sabbath Law was to help man to rest from his work so that he would have some time for God, for himself and for his fellow human beings.  For cut off from God, from himself and from his fellow human beings, man would lose his connection with the whole and with life.  So the Sabbath law was meant for the good and the well-being of man.  It was never meant to be an end in itself, not even for God Himself because He does not need our worship.  For this reason, when His disciples were hungry, as was the case also of David’s men, even sacred laws might have to be broken for the greater good and needs of man.  Certainly, God does not want to make our lives miserable.  He comes to bring us life.  The miseries of religion are due to the narrow, blind and legalistic understanding and application of the laws of religion.

The implication for us therefore is that in all that we do, especially in our observance of the laws of religion, we must never forget the motives and reasons for what we do.  Unless we observe the laws in such a way that brings about the greater love and unity of humankind, and our relationship with God and a greater self-integration, the fulfillment of such laws would further alienate us from God and others.  Only when we behave thus, can we then really be like Jesus, the master of the Sabbath.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman Catholic Archbishop of