Thoughts for the Day

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. ust then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ And they could not reply to this.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We become accustomed to the times when Jesus heals someone on the sabbath and perhaps forget the fact that what he is doing is to break the Law of Moses. There are seven such healings that occur on the sabbath in the Gospels and five of them are watched by critical eyes, usually the Pharisees. It's worth looking at the law, which says:

'Remember the sabbath day, and keep it is holy.
For six days you shall labour and do all your work....
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
but rested the seventh day;
therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day
and consecrated it.' (Exodus 20.8-11)

To break the law by healing someone was work, and it was serious, but as we see in our reading Jesus calmly asks a question of those who are his enemies. The healing of the man is what is important to him, and despite the threat from who will eventually kill him, he calmly points out the fact that they would save a child or an ox and not call it work. In the face of adversity Jesus is calm, unflurried, and confident that he is doing his Father's work.

Today, can we think about how we behave when faced with criticism or a major problem in our life, and resolve to offer the difficulty to God and face it calmly.

Lord Jesus Christ,
You knew the importance of facing
Your enemies calmly,
and of the importance of putting Your people first.
You taught us to love one another
and to love Your Heavenly Father.
Help us to face obstacles and difficulties
in our life by first approaching You
and then calmly looking to find a way
to resolve the problem.
Amen.