Sunday, July 5, 2020

Is It Lawful to Cure on the Sabbath?

July 5, 2020

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Matthew 12:1-14[1]

The sabbath is a gift from God. For the newly forming Israelite community, it must have seemed incredibly wonderful. After long years of slavery in Egypt, to have a day dedicated to rest on which no work was to be done was a treasure. Over time, it became a signature characteristic of Jewish people, that they didn’t work on the sabbath. Taking a break from the routine, taking time to worship God and be with their families was, and still is for most, part of their identity. In the list of the commandments in Exodus 20 we read:

Remember the sabbath day and treat it as holy. Six days you may work and do all your tasks, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. Because the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.[2]

This idea of getting a day off from work, and taking time to worship God, is precious. Certainly, this was important to a people who had just been enslaved. This precious gift from God must be protected. And so, later in Exodus, the Lord gives Moses instructions for keeping the sabbath, and says:

Keep the sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who violates the sabbath will be put to death. Whoever does any work on the sabbath, that person will be cut off from the people.[3]

This is serious business. God really wants you to take a break. This is reiterated, with a more positive spin, in Isaiah 58:

If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth.[4]

Keeping sabbath, and keeping it holy, is a really big deal. Bad things happen when you work on the sabbath, and good things happen when you rest. This is why the Pharisees are so upset by what Jesus does. The disciples are hungry, so they pick some grain to eat. That’s work. Better that they should go hungry. Jesus tries to point out that this isn’t worth getting worked up about. After all, even David, the great King, broke the rules when necessary. The temple priests break the rules when necessary. What’s more important, following the letter of the law, or compassion and mercy?

The Pharisees response isn’t recorded, but they probably walked away grumbling to each other. The sabbath day is precious. If Jesus starts working on the sabbath, then his followers will start doing work on the sabbath, and pretty soon no one will get a day off ever again! Madness!

Later, they try to make their point again, this time in the synagogue where there is a man with a withered hand. “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?” they ask. Surely this man can wait. Jesus responds with a sheep fallen into a pit, and declares “How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep!” The Pharisees don’t like this answer either. The question is, do we?

Do we always value the human being more than we do our pets, or livestock, or property? Do we value compassion and mercy more than the rules? This is a larger question than just whether it is lawful to do good on the sabbath. This is greater than the temple and the rules of purity and holiness. The question raised here is whether we value mercy more than laying blame and guilt. The question is whether we value people more than we value the laws meant to control us.

I don’t think Jesus meant these stories to be a license to break any law or ignore any rule that we find inconvenient. I do think he meant to show that there is a higher law, the law of love, mercy, and compassion.

Now, I am not the most merciful or compassionate person around. I admit that I cast a lot of judgement on my neighbor who kept having parties when we were supposed to be in quarantine. I have given the stink eye to people not wearing a mask in the store. And there was that night I yelled at someone shooting off fireworks close to my house which woke up my young children. I could stand to be more compassionate and merciful. And I pray that God will make me more kind and loving.

There are good reasons for the rules and laws that we have. Laws and rules of behavior allow us to have a peaceful, civil society. They give us a standard set of expectations that help us all to live together and enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and keep us from harming one another. The commandment to keep the sabbath holy is a good law, and I’m sure under most circumstances Jesus would advocate for observing the sabbath.

But there are times when human need supersedes the rules. If my child is rushed to the hospital, I’m not going to wait for traffic lights. I will probably be ticketed, justifiably so, but it would be worth the cost to be at the side of one I love in time of great need.

It is a question at least as old as Socrates, whether there are circumstances when it is right to break the law. When does the moral supersede the legal? What goal justifies breaking the rules?

This is not a simple question, nor one that can be answered in a twenty-minute sermon. The goals of those who would disobey the law have to reach into the heart of morality before we can say that they are right to do so. This question bears on current events, and there are no easy answers. Is the moral cause more important than the law? Is the human being of more value than the sheep? Is it the right thing to do to cure on the sabbath?

For Jesus, the man with the withered hand was the right choice. Curing him would add to the charges against him, but mercy said “stretch out your hand.” The Pharisees conspired about how to destroy him, yet the Son of Man would continue to pursue love, compassion, hope, and forgiveness all the way to the end.

Enjoy your sabbath day. Seek rest, take delight in the Lord, and share love and peace. If you have to do a little work, or commit an act of kindness, I am pretty sure God will understand.  Amen.



[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Exodus 20:8-11.

[3] Exodus 31:14.

[4] Isaiah 58:13-14a.

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