Protest
When we do something intentionally to get others to act, that is a sign of protest.
Then he said to them, 'Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?' But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. - Mark 3:1-5
In today’s Gospel, Jesus knows his actions will incite the Pharisees. He even sets them up with the question about the law.
He is staging a protest in front of the entire congregation.
To him the Sabbath was important but in a different way than the law had prescribed. It had become a day of stress rather than a day of rest. The desire by God to give us humans a day to recharge had become a source of punishment for those who lost the purpose and meaning of that gift.
What is our Sabbath law?
What do we find we have twisted and lost the true meaning of?
When we use the law to punish rather than to guide, we run the risk of missing the intent.
Now the opposite can be true as well. When we abandon all laws we have chaos. So something in the middle is needed.
Perhaps that is uncommon sense.
We need to simplify our laws and allow them to convey meaning and purpose. Jesus did that with his command to love one another.
Maybe we should try healing one another. And we can start on the Sabbath, our day of rest.
More to come...