THE SON OF MAN IS LORD OF THE SABBATH

Mark 2:23-28 

A church gathering is different from a group of soccer fans in a stadium or political cadres (fans) at a rally, who often hurl insults at their opponents. In such contexts, belittling one’s opponent(s) is the rule of the game or order of the day. 

Such is not the case for a church gathering. In today’s Gospel, Jesus’s disciples make a path while picking heads of grain as Jesus is passing through a grain field on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-24). At this the Pharisees ask him, “Look, why are they [disciples] doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” (Verse 24). Jesus responds by giving the example of how David went into the house God when he and his companions were hungry, ate the bread of offering that only priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions (Verses 25-26).  Jesus concludes, thus, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. This is why the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath” (Verses 27-28). 

The Jews kept the Sabbath Day holy in obedience to the FOURTH of the TEN COMMANDMENTS (See Exodus 20:8-10 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21). Jesus did the same following His Jewish religious practices.

However, after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians (who included the Jewish Apostles and other disciples ) started keeping Sunday holy, because He rose from the dead on the first day (Sunday) of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:9; John 20:1-2). Henceforth, Sunday is the new Sabbath for Christians, which should be the Lord’s day, albeit nowadays some people go to church daily (See Acts 2:1; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:1-2; Revelation 1:10; Ps 118:22-26[prophecies of the first day of the week]). 

People go to church for various reasons: prayer, healing, blessings, spiritual and social support, etc. Going to church on Sunday is fashionable for some people. Some walk into the church as though they just came from doing sports (such as playing tennis/basketball/soccer), or from the gym, or from partying hardy. Others dress up for church service. The dress code varies from one culture to another. Yet, any dress code should be proper for worship without causing unnecessary distractions to other worshippers. To function well, any church organization should have rules and regulations that promote respect, decency,  harmony, peace and unity among its members. Love should be the basis of these rules and regulations.

Jesus challenges the Pharisees for their lack of love. They emphasize laws but ignore doing good for the disciples who are hungry. Jesus corrects them by showing them that He is the Lord of the Sabbath who promotes life for His followers. All believers should emulate Jesus and dedicate their worship to God for the service of others. This is when the Sabbath, Sunday, or going to church will be meaningful. IT’S POINTLESS FOR ONE TO BE GOING TO CHURCH while failing to practice the virtues of MERCY, LOVE and COMPASSION, values that May enable him/her to inherit the Kingdom of God. MANY PEOPLE ARE TOILING (WITH SOME LOSING HOPE) IN OTHER SOCIAL GATHERINGS. The Church should be a place where believers feel accepted, loved, cared for, forgiven, and so forth. Yes, we should correct one another to maintain peace and order for the benefit of all church members. We can also judge some actions to be bad or uncharitable. This is our duty as Christians. But we shouldn’t be too judgmental as to totally condemn others. Only God has the full authority to judge us, because only God knows each one of us through and through. As a Bemba proverb says, BAKOLWE BASEKANA IFIPATO (Monkeys laugh at each other’s backs). 

Lord, help us to keep the Sabbath or Sunday holy. May our worship help us to love one another. Amen.