In an earlier post I wrote that we are called to "find the time and space to just "be" with God" on the Sabbath. What is it in us that takes such a simple notion and surrounds it with laws?
In Jesus' lifetime, keeping the Sabbath had become a major worry. All work was forbidden and work was classified under 39 different headings. Not only could you not work, you couldn't do anything that would cause another to work.
Jesus ran into trouble with the scribes and Pharisees time and again over the Sabbath. He and his disciples walked through a cornfield and picked corn to eat...this was forbidden! Not only did they walk too far (they were very strict on how far you could travel on the sabbath) but they were "picking" corn and preparing a meal! The Rabbis saw this as a deadly sin but Jesus saw it differently. In Mark 2:27 He says "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath". He was trying to tell them (and us) that we were here long before any of the laws and human need overrides any law. The Sabbath is meant to meet one of our most basic human needs, it provides a "break" from work and a time to "be" with God.
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