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Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath

Saturday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: Colossians 1:22-23 & Luke 6: 1 – 5

Reflection Date: September 4, 2021

When we take a running glance at the crux of the Sabbath, the purpose of the observance of the Sabbath was a humanitarian and a religious precept celebrated in remembrance of the freedom from slavery in Egypt. So also, as a commemoration of the seventh-day rest of the creator. But then the scrupulous Jews made the Sabbath law so rigorous that it became oppressive and harsh for the ordinary people.

In today's Gospel, at this juncture, citing the example of David and his companions, Jesus affirms the liberating aspect of the law and not on a total demeaning Sabbath. He wants every law to be exercised respecting human necessities because human life is more important and precious than man-made laws and traditions.

Hence, according to the mind and perspective of Jesus, it is more important to respect life than to practice the rules scrupulously. Saying that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus asserts that He who came to fulfill the Jewish laws also has the power to modify them.

For us Christians, Sunday is the day of the Lord – a day where we are urged to spend it with true Christian value with the Lord at the Eucharistic table and radiate the presence of the Lord, received through Communion to our fellow human beings.

Joseph Cardozo SJ | Contributor

 

Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.”  Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.