GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 17TH JANUARY 2017
TUESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
MEMORIAL OF ST. ANTHONY, ABBOT
FIRST READING: Hebrews 6:10-20
PSALM: Psalm 111:1-2, 4-5, 9-10
GOSPEL: Mark 2:23-28
THEME: LAWYER JESUS
Anyone who has ever had a brush with the law will attest that having the right lawyer on one’s side is important in coming out unscathed in a legal tussle.
The disciples of Jesus landed into trouble with the legal system of the Jews. According to Jewish law, “ Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in ploughing time and in harvest time you shall rest” (Ex 34:21). To break the Sabbath law was a serious offence. In fact Exodus 31:14 stipulates that “You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among the people.” However, a provision of the Law, in the Book of Deuteronomy, differentiates between plucking grain and harvesting it (cf. Deut 23:25).
In our Gospel text, the disciples of Jesus were “caught” plucking heads of grain as they made their way through the grainfields on the Sabbath day. This act, per the interpretation of the Law by the Pharisees, was tantamount to harvesting. Ignoring the distinction that the text of Deuteronomy provides, the Pharisees turned to Jesus with an accusation framed in a form of a question, “See here, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (Mk. 2:24). Jesus stepped in as a “lawyer” and came to the defence of his disciples making reference to a precedence in the interpretation and application of the Law in the case of David (cf. 1Sam. 21:1-6). He asked the Pharisees, “Have you not read…?” As lawyers would say, “law is learnt”. Thus the question of Jesus, addressed to men who considered themselves as learned, was an insult to their intellectual pride and a deflation of their ego. Jesus then proceeded and made a solid defence on behalf of his disciples; he then concluded with the statement, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27-28).
Occasionally, we all land into trouble. These are moments when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances or perhaps between “the devil and the deep blue sea”. In such moments, we all need a lawyer. To have Jesus as one’s personal lawyer is an assurance of victory. He knows how to defend and deliver all those who put their trust in him. The question is: Who is your lawyer when trouble comes?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, be my defender in the face of attack. In you I put my trust and I know I shall not be put to shame.
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).