Homily for Saturday
22d Week of Ordinary Time
Sept. 9, 2023
Luke 6: 1-5
Provincial House, New Rochelle
“The
Son of Man is lord of the sabbath” (Luke 6: 5).
So Jesus declares. What does that mean? That he can give his followers free rein to pluck all the grain they want (cf. Luke 6:1-5)? That people he cures are free to carry their sleeping mats (cf. John 5:1-9)? That Jesus may freely heal on the sabbath?
Jesus
justifies his sabbath healing of a woman so crippled that she couldn’t stand up
straight by telling those who challenged him that “this daughter of Abraham”
had been bound by Satan for 18 years and ought to “be set free from this
bondage” even on the sabbath (Luke 13:10-16).
In
fact, the Decalog as presented in Deuteronomy ch. 5 links the sabbath with
freedom. Observance of the sabbath
commemorates that the Jews had been enslaved in Egypt and been released by the
Lord from their bondage (5:12-15).
Freedom from servile work on the sabbath isn’t just an observance but
even a celebration. And when Jesus
declares himself lord of the sabbath, he’s marking himself as our liberator
from the more serious bondage of our sins, from the power of Satan, as he
suggests in healing the crippled woman.
Exodus
ch. 20’s version of the Decalog gives another rationale for sabbath
observance. There, it commemorates God’s
resting after 6 days of creative work (20:8-11). Similarly, our cooperation with God’s
creative power during our week’s work merits a day of resting with God. When Jesus calls himself lord of the sabbath,
he’s taking us a step farther: all our
labors on this earth, all our hard work to further God’s plan, by Jesus’ grace will
bring us to a permanent sabbath rest.
The
Lord of the sabbath sets us free and leads us to an eternal day of rest.
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