This was another healing of the Lord Jesus on the Sabbath. The Sabbath for the Jews was very sacred. There were few things they were allowed to do. It should be spent for prayer and acts of sacrifices. Jesus, a Jew, could not help Himself cure the man with dropsy. He was moved by the suffering of the man. Also, He took the opportunity to show to the people, specially the scholars of the law and the Pharisees, the Spirit of the law as received by Moses. It is interesting to note that since the receipt of Moses of the laws from God, so many additional related laws were created by the elders in order to fulfill the law. However, in the process, too much stress was made on the letter of the law than its essence. Jesus was aware of that development that is why He was very courageous even to earn the ire of the leaders in order to show the real intent of the laws given by God.
There is only one law; that is the law of love. With love, one can never go wrong. We refer to love here as a decision to intend the goodness of the other. The goodness here is to lead the other to salvation. That is the ultimate goal of our relationship with each other and with God. Anything we do or say must lead to a union with God. The laws given to Moses were given in order to give us a way to express our love for each other. Those laws were supposed to be the norms for loving, which is its Spirit. Salvation is not restricted to following those laws. The parable of the rich young man comes to mind. He approached Jesus wanting to attain eternal life. Jesus asked him if he had followed the commandments. He said "yes", since he was born. But Jesus did not stop there. He asked that man to sell everything and follow Him. The rich young man left Jesus, sad. Unfortunately he chose his riches than Jesus who can give him eternal life.
But that is the point of Jesus in today's Gospel. Is fulfilling the law the ultimate goal? Laws are limited. They do not capture totally the Spirit. To believe that salvation is achieved by merely following the commandments is a mistake. Through these laws, may we learn to love. Through these laws, may we see the Truth. Through these laws may we find the Way! In other words, the ultimate goal is God!
The question of Jesus to the scholars and the Pharisees was very revealing. His message to them was clear. That was why "they were unable to answer". Surely, they will seek the care of their endangered love ones even during Sabbath. Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around! They knew it and they could not help the embarrassment from Jesus.
The relevance of this in our lives is clear. The commandments are guides. What is important is our attitude towards others and God. Let us use the law and not the other way around. Always seek to love. Love is greater than the laws. Love will see us through. love will get us to heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment