The Sabbath law | Bandera

The Sabbath law

Fr. Dan De Los Angeles |January 22,2019
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The Sabbath law

Fr. Dan De Los Angeles - January 22, 2019 - 12:15 AM

The Sabbath law
January 22, 2019
Tuesday, 2nd Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Heb 6:10-20 Gospel: Mk
One Sabbath he was walking through grain fields. As his disciples walked along with him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! they are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need, when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the house of God when Abiathar was High Priest and ate the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life  Experience)
On a Sabbath day work was strictly prohibited to exact maximum compliance with the Commandment of keeping the Lord’s Day holy. It was on one such Sabbath when Jesus’ disciples were picking heads of grain and crushing them in their hands. To the scrutinizing eyes of the Pharisees, the disciples were already grinding grain and were therefore violating the Sabbath Law. It was making a mountain out of a molehill really! Jesus took exception to the strict interpretation of the Mosaic Law by invoking 1Samuel 21:2-7, a scripture passage showing how laws can be relaxed for the welfare of man. Jesus argued further that the law is made for man and not the other way around.
Our interpretation of the Ten Commandments is not supposed to be as stiff as that of the Pharisees. Sad to say, the same legalistic spirit lingers in the Church today. Consider this experience: Before I became a priest, I travelled to Manila and attended Mass in one of the churches. It was the year the communion in the hand was implemented. My hands were full as I lined up for communion because I could not leave my things in the pew. When I stuck my tongue out to receive the sacred host, the old priest wouldn’t give me any. He told me: “follow the rules, little boy!”
The non-observance of the rule on Communion by the hand should have been considered because my hands were occupied. There are bigger stories to tell about power abuse not just by priests and nuns but also by parish personnel. Some parishioners resent and stop going to church. While it is true that in the end they are hurting themselves and they only have themselves to blame for being onion-skinned, those power trippers won’t escape rebuke from the Lord. It is important that the law is observed to serve the welfare of parishioners and not the other way around. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M. Email: [email protected]

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