“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Tuesday, 16th January 2018,
Second Week in the Ordinary Time
First reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 88:20-22,27-28
Gospel: Mark 2:23-28
JESUS AND THE SABBATH!
Today Jesus and his disciples along with a few Pharisees were walking on a Sabbath. The disciples must have been so captivated with the teaching of Jesus, that they must have forgotten about the law of fasting and plucked a few ears of corn to relieve their hunger. They continued to enjoy the presence of Jesus, without any guilt. But the Pharisees made the claim that by picking the heads of grain, the disciples were breaking the Sabbath law.
Jesus’ final statement about this sets the record straight.“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” In other words, the whole point of the Sabbath Day was not to impose a scrupulous burden upon us; rather, it was to free us to rest and worship. The Sabbath is a gift from God to us. Sunday is the new Sabbath and it’s a day of rest and worship, an invitation to the life of grace.
Let us reflect, today, upon the way we celebrate the Lord’s Day. Do we see the call to worship and rest as an invitation from God to be renewed and refreshed by His grace? Or do you see it only as a duty that has to be fulfilled. Right attitude to this day will bring a whole new meaning for it in our lives.
Prayer: Lord, I thank You for establishing the New Sabbath as a day to rest and worship You. Help me to live every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation in the way You desire. Help me to see these days as a gift from You to worship and to be renewed. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen
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