One sabbath Jesus was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ Mark 2:23-24

We live in close proximity to small Jewish enclave. It is easy to forget this even though the community’s school is only about a block away from our place. However, the Jewish community has learned to live discreetly for justifiable reasons. We know their history. Not even in this country they are spared from hatred. They have to learn to walk quietly and silently in our midst, except on Saturdays. On this special day, they make themselves known to the world. We see them gallantly dressed in their traditional garments walking to the synagogues in small groups with little delightful children running around cheerfully. The men wear extraordinary furry hats which I am sure have a special name. They look a little out of place in this seemingly tropical climate but still they do not fail to bestow a sense of dignity to these men. Their strict observance of the Sabbath requires them to refrain from driving nor staying in their homes. They are forced to engage with the world. They put aside all their fears and apprehensions and display proudly to the world that they are here present in this world because of their special vocation. They are elected to be part of something glorious. Most of us gaze at them with fascination and perhaps with a little envy. They belong to a special community which has withstood a long history of hardship and marginalization. On Sabbath, they proudly display their unique identity. The Sabbath is their weekly celebration of their special vocation.

It is safe to say that most of us born outside the Jewish faith can not truly appreciate the importance of Sabbath. Perhaps, we should refrain from judging the Pharisees rashly when it comes to this issue. They were defending something which was essential to their Jewish identity. We can appreciate this. People fight wars and willingly die to defend their national or tribal identity. We vote for leaders if they promise to keep us from losing track of who we are. Many terrible leaders were elected due to this. The Pharisees, in many ways, were just like us. They were zealous about protecting what they thought was essential to their identity.

The observance of Sabbath is about their identity as God’s chosen people. They were determined to protect this zealously. Nothing which would jeopardize the observance of this day was permitted. In the gospel reading, they were upset when the disciples plucked the grains of wheat for food on this holy day. It may appear to us as if they were extremely nit picky. In reality, they were being very moderate. The Old Testament, the Book of Numbers more precisely, tells us a tragic tale where a man gathered some sticks on the Sabbath and he was put to death for it (Numbers 15:32-36). The Bible tells us that God commanded the people to stone the man. The people were a little hesitant but they had to obey the order from God. It seems like God is on the same page as the Pharisees and Jesus is really the trouble maker.

I think I just walked into a very tricky maze and now I have to find a way out. However, it is necessary for us to face this apparent contradiction in the Bible. It appears like Jesus is setting Himself against the Old Testament. At the same time, He claimed that He did not come to do away with the Law but to fulfill it. Our Lord is quite complicated. He does not make it easy for the Pharisees, nor for us. The Bible is not for amateurs. We need to have courage to face these hard questions. We have to be courageous to listen to the voice of Jesus and look back into the past with a critical attitude. Jesus is not doing away with the past. He is redefining it. The Law was interpreted with an imperfect understanding of God and now Jesus is presenting us with a bold argument. He is claiming to give us a true understanding of God. We can see why this would greatly annoy the religious authorities of His time.

The people of Israel looked at the Law as a tool for separating themselves from the rest of the world. They refused to engage in the world around them. They shun away from those who did not share their identity. Those who did not conform to the requirements of their vocation were considered impure at best or dead at worse. This is not the message of the gospel. There are many who preach this message but it is not one in accordance with the ministry and life of our Lord.

Our Lord did not preach a message to make us cower and hide from the world. He gave us a vocation to separate ourselves from the world so that we can engage with the world in a way to bring forth healing;

 “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

Eternal life is not life after death but living our lives fully and completely in the present reality. It is seeing the reality and beauty of God’s love in every given situation. It is the hope of humanity to see something creative and life-giving springing forth from this chaotic world.

The Pharisees were so obsessed with their identity as an elected people that they forget the true purpose of their vocation. It was not to exalt themselves but it was for them to become a life giving force in this world. We cannot be a life giving force if we are not present in the world. We cannot be a spring of eternal water if we hide and cower from the world. However, we still need to be separated or set aside. We are not to be in the world using its tools to proclaim the reality of eternal life. We are to be separated from the world to be like our Lord. He is the Lord of our Sabbath. He is our identity but not our role model. We usually pick and choose what we want from our role models but we live our lives in Jesus. We contemplate His actions and interpret them to live them out in our given situation. We seek to understand how to bring His healing Love to those around us. In other words, we make Jesus our Sabbath. It is not about a day but living our lives according to a Person. It is about taking time to remind ourselves that we have a vocation in this world. This vocation is to allow Jesus to open our eyes and ears to perceive the world as He perceives. It requires much of our time, more than just a day. It is a lifestyle.

Jesus lived in this world to serve and heal. He served and healed without reservation. He brought hope and joy to the people. The Sabbath of the Pharisees was oppressive and death producing. Well, what about the complicated story in the Old Testament? The Bible is a story of humanity’s growing understanding of God. It shows how imperfect nature could never fully grasp the goodness and love of God. Many people want God to be a tyrant and tell them what to do. A tyrannical God always commits atrocious acts. Many Christians past and present prefer this kind of God. However, the Lord of the Sabbath calls us to separate ourselves and contemplate on God who is life giving. God who wants to use Sabbath to renew our strength and gives us the courage to face the chaos and trouble in the world and be transformed into springs of eternal water. Sabbath is about living Life and living it to the fullness. Only the Lord of the Sabbath can help us achieve this. He is the fountain of our Life. Let us drink from it daily.