1st Sunday After Trinity
Readings: Deuteronomy 5v12-15; Psalm 81v1-10; 2 Corinthians 4v5-12; Mark 2v23-3v6.
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
The psalm tells us that the 7th day is a day of festival, a day to make music and sing songs about God, the one and only true God, the God who lifts the burden of the world from our shoulders, the God who saves and rescues us, just as he did in ancient times, when he rescued his people from Egypt. This reading tells us that the Sabbath is a festival day when we can focus on God and call to mind all that God has done for us as we rest from the pressures of life.
In Mark’s gospel we hear that Jesus was walking with his disciples on a Sabbath day and the disciples pulled off heads of grain. The Pharisees amongst them complained and said to Jesus that they were breaking the Sabbath rules. In reply, Jesus reminded all who were listening that the Sabbath was made for the people, not the people made for the Sabbath, by telling them part of their history. For when their ancestor David and his companions were hungry, they had gone into the sanctuary and, in the presence of the chief priest, had taken and eaten the holy bread from the altar. Then, after they reached the meeting place, Jesus asked those present about the actions that are permitted on the Sabbath, good or evil actions, and then showed them what he meant by healing a man with a withered hand, even though this was not permitted by the Sabbath rules, in his time. This reading tells us that even though the Sabbath is a day that was made for us by God, when we can rest from the pressures of life and copy what God does; that it is also a day that has become confused by all sorts of human rules – rules set by humankind down the ages, human rules, rules not wanted or required by God. For the rules we have made up down the ages are: rules that misdirect us, rules that trip us up, rules that make the Sabbath a problem to overcome, and rules that distract us from all of God’s best intentions for us.
So what should we be doing on the Sabbath? Genesis 2v2-4: By the 7th day God had finished his work and on the 7th day God rested. God blessed the 7th day and made it a holy day because on that day God rested after all the work of creating. Exodus 20v8-11: Keep the Sabbath day holy by copying God and resting from work on the 7th day. Because the 7th day is a day of rest and festival – it is a day when we have time to meet up and gather together: to eat the holy bread, just like King David did; to hel[p those in need, like Jesus did, and to tell one another about what God has done for us, like the people did in the psalm. For we are called to be a people like those we heard about in the letter to the Corinthians. People who are like ordinary, everyday, clay pots – ordinary human beings that God asks to carry the brightness of his message about Jesus. A message that has put our forebears at risk by being battered, terrorised and knocked down. A message we are sent out to carry for the salvation of others. God will be with us.
Let us pray: Day by day dear Lord, of you three things we pray: to see you more clearly, to love you more dearly and to follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen
Thank you for joining us.