Daily Retreat 09/11/06
2006 Sep 11 Mon: Ordinary Weekday
1 Cor 5: 1-8/ Ps 5: 5-6. 7. 12/ Lk 6: 6-11
From today’s readings: “Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.... For You, O God, delight not in wickedness; no evil man remains with You; the arrogant may not stand in Your sight.... I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?”
More on the Sabbath
In the first verses of Chapter Six of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the Pharisees’ objections to plucking grain on the Sabbath (cf. Saturday’s reflection). That incident is followed by another pericope (Gospel passage) considering the scope of licit Sabbath activities, the healing of the man with the withered hand.
Jesus' position is voiced in a rhetorical question presented as a double dilemma: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” This dilemma couches a significant insight: omission of a good act furthers the tide of evil, and refusal to save life contributes to its destruction.
Clearly, God did not institute the Sabbath to give people an excuse for doing less good on the Lord's day!
1 Cor 5: 1-8/ Ps 5: 5-6. 7. 12/ Lk 6: 6-11
From today’s readings: “Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.... For You, O God, delight not in wickedness; no evil man remains with You; the arrogant may not stand in Your sight.... I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?”
More on the Sabbath
In the first verses of Chapter Six of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the Pharisees’ objections to plucking grain on the Sabbath (cf. Saturday’s reflection). That incident is followed by another pericope (Gospel passage) considering the scope of licit Sabbath activities, the healing of the man with the withered hand.
Jesus' position is voiced in a rhetorical question presented as a double dilemma: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” This dilemma couches a significant insight: omission of a good act furthers the tide of evil, and refusal to save life contributes to its destruction.
Clearly, God did not institute the Sabbath to give people an excuse for doing less good on the Lord's day!
posted by FrPitstick | 9/09/2006
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