The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr John O’Mahony SVD – Divine Word Seminary Tagaytay
Saturday 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
From a psychological and humanitarian point of view, the need for rest can hardly be doubted. In one way or another all societies and cultures make space for that need. Work is indeed a human and social necessity, but when it takes on an importance to the exclusion of all other needs, then life becomes less than human. That points to the need for some form of “day of rest.” There is also a spiritual aspect to be considered. This is the need for people to be able to offer praise and honor to the God or gods they worship. For many of the more universal faith traditions, e.g., Christianity (Sunday), Judaism (Saturday), Islam (Friday), a key element in unifying the worship system of the believers is the institution of a special day of worship. Hence the development of the Sabbath in Judaism from ancient times until now.
In the time of Jesus, the Sabbath day had become very organized and regulated, so much so that its observance had become difficult and burdensome for many of the faithful. The scribes and Pharisees (the rabbinic class) had developed a system of rules and regulations that had become almost impossible to observe in their entirety. This gave the leaders far too much power over the ordinary daily life of the faithful and robbed the observance of the Sabbath of the joy of worship and fellowship that it was meant to bring.
Today’s little Gospel episode is a simple example of this. Although Jesus loved the Sabbath and had observed it all his life, he had little patience with so many of the rules and regulations that burdened the lives of people, whose lives were already difficult enough. So he never hesitated to heal on the Sabbath, even in the synagogue itself, and to do other acts of love that brought joy and hope to the people. He made it clear that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27), along with the startling statement that “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
We are in a different age now and, in a time when many people pay little attention to the occurrence of the Lord’s Day or are only barely aware of its existence, some might wonder what is the relevance of all these sabbath controversies for us today. We can, however, always learn from the word of God. The “Sabbatarian mindset” is still very much with us, even if not always focused on the Lord’s Day itself. But even concerning the observance of Sunday itself, are we not frequently judgmental of the many who do not go to church without asking ourselves why that is so, or what are the constraints that prevent them from attending.
How often do we fail to look with gratitude to the many anonymous people who work hard on Sundays and holidays so that we can enjoy the possibility of a day of rest and worship? Are we rigid and hardhearted at times in judging people who find themselves in irregular and different moral situations? Do we agree with Pope Francis as he speaks so much about mercy or do we find ourselves thinking that maybe he is a bit too soft and lenient?
Let us ask the Lord to look kindly on us and spare us from the spirit of legalism which will only distort the image of a loving God, the image of hope and joy that Jesus gives us. That will help us to observe the Lord’s Day with the proper attitude.
