A Sabbath Homily on Luke 6:1-16
by Sister Rebecca Today’s Gospel takes place on the Sabbath, when Jesus’ actions give rise to conflict with some of the Pharisees. Jesus does not chide his hungry disciples for plucking and eating some ears of grains, and then later, in the synagogue, he heals a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees see these actions as unlawful on the Sabbath. Jesus replies, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” Throughout the Gospels, Jesus teaches people to look deeply, to see beneath the surface of the rules and regulations. His message is always this: “I have come to give life and life in abundance.” Jesus often does this on the Sabbath: renewing life, allowing life to emerge, and freeing people from bondage and from whatever snares their minds, bodies, and souls. In Exodus 20 we read: “In six days God made heaven, earth, and the sea and everything in them. God rested on the seventh day.” God blessed the Sabbath day. ...