Where will this lead?
Norah Summers
June 08, 2018
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Mark 2:23 – 3:6
23 Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. As his disciples walked along with him, they began to pick the heads of wheat. 24 So the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do that on the Sabbath!”
25 Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did that time when he needed something to eat? He and his men were hungry, 26 so he went into the house of God and ate the bread offered to God. This happened when Abiathar was the High Priest. According to our Law only the priests may eat this bread—but David ate it and even gave it to his men.”
27 And Jesus concluded, “The Sabbath was made for the good of human beings; they were not made for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
(3) 1 Then Jesus went back to the synagogue, where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. 2 Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong; so they watched him closely to see whether he would cure the man on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man, “Come up here to the front.” 4 Then he asked the people, “What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone's life or to destroy it?”
But they did not say a thing. 5 Jesus was angry as he looked around at them, but at the same time he felt sorry for them, because they were so stubborn and wrong. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it became well again. 6 So the Pharisees left the synagogue and met at once with some members of Herod's party, and they made plans to kill Jesus.
Jesus was walking through some cornfields – on a journey, one of so many in his wandering life.
But this turns in to another kind of journey – where he sets his disciples off on a new way of thinking.
Law, custom, tradition – a more modern image might be tramlines – a set route with no deviation, rigid rules which were self-perpetuating and applied punitively. For all they may have had their origin in issues of good order and obedience and ritual and hygiene, strict adherence would often take little or no account of humanity or compassion, of hunger or weakness, of suffering or despair. Jesus cuts right through it all, “something must be done” so he does it.
Hungry people are fed, a disabled man is cured – on the Sabbath! Where will this lead? Jesus knows perfectly well where it will lead, but that does not deter him. He has set out on his journey and must persevere to the bitter end.
God of beginnings,
God of departures,
give us courage to think out of the box,
to set off on new paths,
to take risks,
to see past the rules to the people,
to follow Jesus,
wherever that journey may lead.
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