Luke 6:1-11
The simple act of reaping a few kernels of ripening grain got Jesus and his disciples into trouble. The story may have been important to the church in Luke’s time. The Pharisees had assumed the religious and political leadership of the Jewish communities throughout the Roman Empire during the years after the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 CE. Keeping of the sabbath by attendance at synagogue services had become of supreme importance.
Jesus turned the challenge on its head. It was undoubtedly still a very painful issue for devout Jews, and especially those who were Pharisees, that they could not longer go up their sacred sanctuary to offer the traditional sacrifices that had become so much a part of their worship. Jesus seems almost to have taunted them by pointing to an incident in the life of their greatest king, David (1 Samuel 21:1-6).
As Sharon Ringe points out in her Luke, in the Westminster Bible Companion series, there are three anomalies in the story. What the disciples did was within law of Moses because the reaped grain met an immediate need, always permissible on the sabbath. The Pharisees were walking with Jesus, something forbidden on the sabbath. That the story about David did not exactly fit the situation may indicate that it may have been a literary creation by Luke to make his point to prove that Jesus’ authority surpassed that even of David.
The principle of Jesus’ authority for Christians is fully expressed in the words of 6:5. The issue is not what one does on the sabbath, but what rules one’s life all of the time.
The second incident similarly established Jesus’ authority over all of life. Synagogue attendance involved studying the Torah and other Hebrew scriptures. All Jewish men were required to be there, even the disabled if at all possible.
Although healing was considered work, it was permissible as long as it dealt with a life-threatening situation. In a world where right-handedness was dominant and left- handedness sinister, this was indeed the case. But would have endangered the man’s life to wait until the sabbath was over at sunset?
Again the story may point to a total separation of synagogue and church in Luke’s community. For Christians, the issue is about the purpose of keeping the sabbath, not about the letter of the law. Jesus’ concern was for the disabled man. To heal his disability was closer to the purpose of the commandment than rigid but vapid holiness. We are given life to serve God wholly in body, mind and spirit. As has been noted before, in English healing, health, whole and holy all come from the same ancient German root word heil.
Have we lost the meaning of keeping the sabbath? It has been said that today on any given Sunday, there are more Christians at worship than at all the professional sports events in the country. But what about the rest of the week? It too is holy.
Showing posts with label SAbbath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SAbbath. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
6 - Sabbath at Capernaum
In Luke 4:31-44 the narrative presents the good news in action as well as words, just as Jesus had indicated he would by the quotation from Isaiah 61.
Ideally set at the seashore, Capernaum was important to the local Galilean economy because of its fishing industry. Like every Jewish town it had its synagogue. Jesus was invited to teach there on a sabbath. Once again, his teaching elicited amazement, but also a measure of opposition. This time from a man with “the spirit of an unclean demon” (4:33).
To us “authority over demons’”reminds us of the horrors of exorcism. Biblical stories of exorcism communicate the effective treatment of severe mental illnesses and/or personality disorders. Healing and the integration the personality is called for kindness and care, not judgmental punishment. This ‘demon’ had been disturbing the synagogue at worship. The healing Jesus offered silenced it, perhaps mostly by paying attention to the person who was ill in a caring way.
But the ‘demon’ also recognized Jesus in a way that the congregation did not. He had seen in Jesus a power than was greater than himself. This was a serious threat to the ‘demon’ who held the sick man in its power. Luke thus affirmed that Jesus was no ordinary exorcist or a great teacher. Instead, for Luke’s audience, Jesus was one in whom the authority and power of God was effectively manifested.
Something miraculous indeed occurred, but the reaction of the people in Capernaum was strikingly in contrast to that of the people in Nazareth. The two episodes revealed the inconsistency of human beings. This reality will continue throughout Jesus’ ministry, but will not defeat the purposes of God.
The next incident in Luke’s narrative dealt with the physical issue of disease and the religious issue of keeping the sabbath. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. Jesus healed her and she immediately rose and served him. We don’t even know her name, but as Luke told of it, she was the first person to participate in the ministry of service. Later in Luke 22:26, Jesus would use the idea of service as the way disciples demonstrate that they are followers of Jesus).
Other instances of woman serving Jesus and accompanying him on his journeys will appear later in the Gospel too. One was even said to “preach” (8:47); but Luke generally limited preaching to men while women served and listened (e.g. Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42). This became an important feature of the second part of Luke’s narrative in The Acts of The Apostles.
As Sharon Hinge put it, with these anecdotes from Jesus’ early ministry in Nazareth and Galilee, Luke was intent on preparing his audience for, and giving previews of, what he would say in the rest of the Gospel. Not only was Jesus proclaiming the good news drawn from Isaiah’s prophecy, he was instituting God’s reign by his actions though healing and exorcism demonstrating his power.
Ideally set at the seashore, Capernaum was important to the local Galilean economy because of its fishing industry. Like every Jewish town it had its synagogue. Jesus was invited to teach there on a sabbath. Once again, his teaching elicited amazement, but also a measure of opposition. This time from a man with “the spirit of an unclean demon” (4:33).
To us “authority over demons’”reminds us of the horrors of exorcism. Biblical stories of exorcism communicate the effective treatment of severe mental illnesses and/or personality disorders. Healing and the integration the personality is called for kindness and care, not judgmental punishment. This ‘demon’ had been disturbing the synagogue at worship. The healing Jesus offered silenced it, perhaps mostly by paying attention to the person who was ill in a caring way.
But the ‘demon’ also recognized Jesus in a way that the congregation did not. He had seen in Jesus a power than was greater than himself. This was a serious threat to the ‘demon’ who held the sick man in its power. Luke thus affirmed that Jesus was no ordinary exorcist or a great teacher. Instead, for Luke’s audience, Jesus was one in whom the authority and power of God was effectively manifested.
Something miraculous indeed occurred, but the reaction of the people in Capernaum was strikingly in contrast to that of the people in Nazareth. The two episodes revealed the inconsistency of human beings. This reality will continue throughout Jesus’ ministry, but will not defeat the purposes of God.
The next incident in Luke’s narrative dealt with the physical issue of disease and the religious issue of keeping the sabbath. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. Jesus healed her and she immediately rose and served him. We don’t even know her name, but as Luke told of it, she was the first person to participate in the ministry of service. Later in Luke 22:26, Jesus would use the idea of service as the way disciples demonstrate that they are followers of Jesus).
Other instances of woman serving Jesus and accompanying him on his journeys will appear later in the Gospel too. One was even said to “preach” (8:47); but Luke generally limited preaching to men while women served and listened (e.g. Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42). This became an important feature of the second part of Luke’s narrative in The Acts of The Apostles.
As Sharon Hinge put it, with these anecdotes from Jesus’ early ministry in Nazareth and Galilee, Luke was intent on preparing his audience for, and giving previews of, what he would say in the rest of the Gospel. Not only was Jesus proclaiming the good news drawn from Isaiah’s prophecy, he was instituting God’s reign by his actions though healing and exorcism demonstrating his power.
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