Meditation for October 23

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Matthew 12:9-14

 

"He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked Him, 'Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?' so that they might accuse Him.  He said to them, 'Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep!  So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.'  Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.'  He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, how to destroy Him."

 

Moving Beyond Excuses

 

All this happened in the Pharisees' synagogue, on the sabbath.  Perhaps this passage should be subtitled "Not-So-Great Moments in the Life of a Faith Community."  The faithful try to lay a trap for Jesus with the question that they ask Him, "so that they might accuse Him."  Hmmm... laying in ambush for another, right in church.  The teacher points out that they would save their only sheep on the sabbath, if it fell into a pit.  So yes, He says - emphatically yes! - it is lawful to cure a man on the sabbath.  (A man is of more value than a sheep, Jesus argues.) He takes the point even farther.  It is lawful to do good - anything that is good - on the sabbath.  The full implication of what Jesus was saying?   "Do good any day.  That is never against the law.  Would that all of God's people were making the most of their opportunities to do good.  See a need?  Respond!  Even on the sabbath? Yes, by all means!" 

 

Jesus, not at all afraid of what He knew their reaction would be, then healed the man with the withered hand.  You would think that would have given them a wonderful new thing to celebrate in the synagogue that day.  It could have been a day when they not only celebrated the great acts of God in the past - the call of Abraham, the Exodus, the giving of the Torah, the giving of the Promised Land to the people of Israel, the return from exile in Babylon, etc.  Now, in this moment, they could add to their praises and celebrate a wonderful way that God had acted on that very day.  But instead, they left the synagogue and started conspiring together on how they could destroy Jesus.  What a missed opportunity to praise God!  Not only that, they used the sabbath laws as a means to attack Jesus, as an excuse to justify their unholy, destructive, and hate-filled behavior.

 

I am left to contemplate how I often imitate the Pharisees' behavior much more frequently than I walk in Jesus' footsteps.

 

God gives me so many opportunities to "do good".  The poor, the lonely, the sick, and the marginalized are all around me, just as they were in Jesus' time.  But I have my excuses.  My family needs me.  I have to get a sermon written.  I am way too busy.  I give money to my favorite charities.  There is this problem in the church that I really need to address, that is taking my time.  I need a day just for myself, to renew, to refuel, to reconnect with God.  All of these things have a ring of truth to them.  But sometimes, like the Pharisees, I don't want to admit that I may be lacking in the compassion department.  Sometimes I don't want to look at myself, and the places where God is challenging me to grow.  Sometimes I am much more ready to accuse someone else, point out his or her shortcomings, lay in ambush and act as if that person is the reason for all my problems.

 

The Pharisees needed to repent, so that they could see again.  Quite often, so do I.  To repent - to do a 180 degree return, to come to my senses and realize that I am walking away from God, and stop, and turn around, and start walking (or running) back towards God, and asking for His help, His forgiveness, His guidance - start asking for His transforming love to change my stone-cold heart.  To repent, from the Greek word meaning "to go beyond the mind that you have." (Marcus J. Borg, The Heart of Christianity, p. 180)  More than just my hand is withered.  Quite often, I need a new mind and a new heart, and I can only experience that transformation if I stay very close to Christ.

 

So I can say with conviction, "Most merciful God, we [I] confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we [I] have done, and by what we [I] have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves..." Or, if you prefer, "Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep, we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, we have offended against Thy holy laws..." (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 360, pp. 320-321)

 

We confess our sins to God, and by the love and grace of God, we are forgiven, restored, made well again.  But God does not leave us there.  God says, in effect, "Start again.  I am transforming your heart so that you can love, not scheme, not accuse, not make excuses."  And we are reminded of verses like Micah 6:8.  "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  Jesus lived out Micah 6:8 better than anyone who ever lived.  And He invites me and us to move beyond our excuses, to open up our hearts to the transforming love of God, and to follow in His steps.  See a need?  Respond.  It doesn't matter what day of the week it is.  It's lawful.  More than that, it's good.

 

Who is the one "sheep" that needs my attention right now?  Help me to respond with compassion to that sheep, O Lord.