Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5)

 


Monday, February 17, 2025


Psalm 106:1-24

Genesis 26:34-27:29

Luke 6:1-11


Observance: Holy Innocents [if not observed on December 28]


Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5)


In a time when we hear so much of the importance of mental health, it is good to have a few mental fitness tips and tricks up our sleeve. A good one is to always have something to look forward to – plan a day out, or some time with a good friend, or have a book that you have been looking forward to ready to go on your next day off. In other words, rest is a gift that God has given humanity, and he has given it to us to use for our profit.


Today’s showdown between Jesus and the Pharisees revolves around what constitutes a godly use of rest, specifically with regards to the biblical laws surrounding the Sabbath. This discussion is covered in other places (like Matthew 12), which give greater detail as to Jesus’ teaching on the matter. But today we are looking through the camera shot chosen by St Luke, and he seems to think we should keep two specific things in mind.


First, Jesus is lord of the Sabbath: he gets to decide what constitutes a godly use of rest. Secondly, his decision as lord of the Sabbath is that it is lawful to “do good”, to “save life”.


When God created the heavens and the earth, his days of work constituted a specific type of work: that of creating. Then, on the seventh day, he rested, blessed rest, and instituted a weekly day of rest for all of creation. Jesus then comes along and tells us that rest does not mean to sit around passively and do nothing; but rather it is a gift of God for us to use for our benefit. Therefore, since there are all sorts of things we do that restore us, such as going on a day out, or spending time with a good friend, or settling in with a book we have been looking forward to, then there is a great possibility that this constitutes godly rest. Physical rest is necessary and important, but spiritual rest even moreso.


What do you enjoy doing that restores your spirit? What do you do that restores the spirits of the people that love you? How could you bring those things more closely in line with what Jesus wants, and thereby be an even greater vessel of spiritual restoration?


Lord of the Sabbath, through whom and for whom the Sabbath was made: bless our rest, so that by feeding on you spiritually, we may know godly rest, and others know it through us.

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