Luke 6:1-11

I wonder if Jesus took a sort of divinely-sneaky delight in upsetting those religious boffins of the day… though sad for their sakes, that they were so obsessed about the wrong things.

One of those obsessions concerned the Sabbath: the concept of taking regular breaks to rest, reflect, and celebrate. Of course, the original idea is brilliant. Even essential for the well-being of humankind! But those in authority at the time had twisted the whole thing on its head (something I suppose religious extremism tends to do). Instead of the Sabbath being a God-idea to bring a healthy tempo into our lives, it was turned into a self-inflicted bunch of man-rules; precise dos and don’ts for a particular day of the week, with dire consequences if you strayed.

Then Jesus walks in, totally unfazed, and breaks every one of those Sabbath restrictions, healing and blessing folks right left and center. And how those religious-rules-enforcers hate Him for it. Now exposed as they are to how far away from God’s intentions THEY have strayed…

And what about us? What about me? Have I taken any God-idea and tweaked and twisted it into some sick thing of my own – something that has very little to do with the original intentions. This seems to happen a lot with humans and their religious setups…

For that matter, how is my relationship with this whole Sabbath idea?
Is it a matter of certain rules to follow so I feel a bit more holy?
Or is it a way of life to embrace, paced with grace – to rest, reflect and celebrate?

Photo: Sherman: an expert at doing the resting bit