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The first sight
that most people see when they walk into St. Peter’s Basilica in the
Vatican is Michelangelo’s sculpture, “Pieta”. This sculpture completed
in 1499 depicts the lifeless body of Jesus, being cradled by his
grieving Mother Mary. It is a deeply moving work of art, that calls
so much to one’s heart– the love of a mother, the gift of our Lord,
the pain of grief, the wonder of resurrection (only truly grasped in
view of devastating death), and so much more. The only problem with
the “Pieta” is that it is not easy to see behind the bulletproof glass
where it rests. On May 21, 1972 a man suffering from psychosis ran
into the chapel and attacked the sculpture with a hammer, rendering
considerable damage. From that point on a thick glass pane has
obscured the “Pieta”. All due to one man who somehow lost touch with
reality.
I am afraid that the same thing has happened to the practice of
Sabbath. A few people became so imbalanced in their
approach to this Holy Day that it has been obscured ever since. We
find two stories, one right after another that exposes these
atrocities in Mark 2:23-3:6. Hear now the Word of the Lord:
223One sabbath he
was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his
disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
24The Pharisees
said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the
sabbath?”
25And he said to
them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions
were hungry and in need of food?
26He entered the
house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the
Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and
he gave some to his companions.”
27Then he said to
them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the
sabbath;
28so the Son of Man
is lord even of the sabbath.”
31Again he entered
the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.
2They watched him
to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might
accuse him.
3And he said to
the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.”
4Then 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.
5He 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.
6The Pharisees
went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how
to destroy him.
The Word of God for
the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen. In this passage
Mark recorded for his readers Sabbath skirmishes between
Sabbatarians and the Savior. We see in this passage what we already
know. That is, that even the holiest of days can be afflicted by
abuse. Abuse happens.
Abuse
Happens When One Is Too Nearsighted To See The Lord Beyond The Law
Jesus and his disciples were taking a Sabbath stroll.
They were walking through a field and the disciples picked some grain,
rubbed away the chaff and ate the kernels. Perfectly legal in that
day and time. However, Exodus 34:21 states even during the plowing
season and harvest you must rest on the seventh day. The intent is
obvious. We humans feel the need to strike while the iron’s hot, to
make hay while the sun shines. It would be so easy to forget Sabbath
with a field full of grain waiting to be harvested. “Don’t fall for
that,” God says. “If you only wait ‘til you’re caught up to rest,
you’ll never rest.” It’s a good point. It’s a good law. It’s a good
exposition of that law. However, the Pharisees went a little
further. They accused the disciples of harvesting, threshing, and
preparing a meal in their simple act of a Sabbath
snack. They were taking all the fun out of the day.
Jesus sighted precedence when he said “David once broke the sacred
law, eating consecrated bread and God didn’t condemn him. Don’t be so
uptight. Sabbath was meant for rest, not fret.
Besides,” Jesus said, “I’m Lord of the Sabbath. I wrote the book.
Look at me. Can’t you see me?”
They
couldn’t see him. They were so nearsighted all they could see was the
law. Thirty-nine categories of work were prohibited by traditional
Sabbath rules. Rabbi Zalman Schachter - Shalomi points out,
“Sabbath is not about legalism and legislation, but about joy. We
need to remove the grimness from it.” They took something
beautiful and fashioned it into an idol.
Before we throw stones at the Pharisees let us beware of making the
same mistake or worse yet, the counter mistake of ignoring Sabbath
altogether. It’s easy to become a Pharisee, a Sabbatarian.
It
can even happen at church camp. Years ago I directed District Youth
Camp and discovered one of the perks of directing camp is that I got
to select all the snacks for the counselors. We always had my kind of
soda, my favorite chips, and never did we run out of Tootsie Roll
Pops, especially the grape Tootsie Roll Pop. Our dean of girls at
that camp happened to be the Administrative Assistant at the church I
served. Ginger was terrific in every way, until I saw her eat a
Tootsie Roll Pop. She bit right into it, first thing. Hard shell
candy crunching right into the tootsie roll center. I was appalled.
That is not how to eat a Tootsie Roll Pop. The best way to eat one is
without one single crunch. You let the candy dissolve slowly until
all that’s left is the Tootsie Roll center, then and only then do you
chew. Ginger was banned from the Tootsie Roll Pops for the rest of
the week. I think I have Pharisaical tendencies, now that I think
about it.
I’d
like to say it’s only in regards to Tootsie Roll Pops, but I’d be
wrong. It’s easy to take something created for enjoyment and abuse it
with a nearsightedness that prefers rules to relationships. Jesus was
standing right there. And all they could say was, “You’re doing it
all wrong”. Beware as you strive to observe Sabbath so
as not to become an abusive Sabbatharian. Even the holiest of days
can be afflicted by abuse. Abuse happens when we are
too nearsighted to see the Lord beyond the law.
Abuse
Happens When One Is Too Blind To See Genuine Need
Mark
recorded another Sabbath skirmish in Chapter 3. Jesus
did not stumble into Sabbath confrontations. I believe he
charged into them to expose the idolatrous and calloused
hearts of the abusers. Bill Hybels is convinced, after considerable
study, that the man with a withered hand was a plant, a trap by those
who not only were unable to see the Lord beyond the law, but unable to
see the need beyond their own agenda. Hybels imagines a sub-committee
going in search of a person with a disability, setting that person
where Jesus would have to see him, then inviting Jesus to visit their
synagogue that Sabbath day. If that’s what happened,
it’s a terrible thing. For they cared nothing for this man with a
withered hand, cared not for his self-consciousness, cared not for his
frustrations, cared not for his feelings. They used him as a
fisherman might use a small perch that he caught. He was simply bait
for the bigger fish.
Jesus was angry and grieved. I can see him, clenched teeth and tender
tears in verse 5, “He looked around at
them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart.”
Not only could they not see the Lord,
they were blind to the need before them and that made Jesus angry.
I think I know that look that Jesus gave
to the Pharisees. I saw it one day in my mother’s eyes. Fortunately,
it was not directed my way on that day. I was in the sixth grade
walking down the sidewalk with a friend, when another kid rode by me
on a bike and spit on me. Before good sense could arrest my vengeful
impulse I chased the kid on the bike and knocked him off the bike.
The skirmish did not go much farther, as I recall, until I got home
and found the boy and his mother arriving at my house at the same
time. His mother was discussing my thoughtless behavior with my
mother. Mom was just about to let me have it, when I blurted out, “He
spit on me!” That’s when I saw the look. Her expression changed
from, “Why do I have so many boys?” to “What have you done
to my child!” Now understand that even now I am not trying to
justify my behavior. Retaliation was not the best course of action.
What I am saying is that my Mom is here today, so don’t pick on me or
you might get that look. And if that is true for my Mom, just think
of how it is with Jesus regarding his children. He gave the Pharisees
that look and then he healed the afflicted man. “Sabbath
is a day for good things,” he said, “a day for life to be
refreshed”.
The
guardians of the Sabbath became the abusers of it, too
blind to see genuine need. Rather than doing good and promoting life,
they did harm to this man and then left to plot death and destruction
(on the Sabbath).
There are so many blind spots in our human eyes. Confirmands, I am
glad that you have learned some of the rules of the church: The Ten
Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, even your own creed, the doctrine
of the Trinity, and the General Rules of the Methodist Church (to
avoid doing harm, to do good, and attend the ordinances of the
church). Be careful in keeping them that you never lose sight of
Jesus or the needs of those around you. That’s when abuse can happen.
Abuse happens when we’re too nearsighted to see the Lord beyond the
law. Abuse happens when we’re too blind to see genuine need standing
before us.
Sabbath,
as we have examined for the last several weeks, is a special day. We
could discuss and debate whether it takes place on Sunday, Saturday,
Friday, during every quarter moon, or any other interpretation. The
truth is Sabbath begins when we are still, when we stop,
when we rest. We have been spelling it out for the last several
weeks. The “S” enables us to remember to Set
Aside this day for rest, reflection, and reassessment. The first
“A” is for Always Observe the Sabbath
as a sanctuary of time instituted by God. The first “B”
reminds us to Be Still and open the Sabbath
as a gift given by a God who waits with anticipation as we unwrap it.
The second “B” is for Benefits Beyond Belief.
Benefits of joy, exhilaration, home. Still, in the
midst of all these promises and the quiet presence of God - Abuse
Happens.
So,
be careful as you celebrate the Sabbath not to hurl
stones at those who keep Sabbath differently. Keep your
focus on the Lord of the Sabbath. Keep your hearts
open to help others. Then we shall experience that for which we long
-- Shabbat Shalom. Sabbath peace. Amen.
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