Conflicts around Rules and Healing ...

Tuesday, Jan 15, 2019. Some rules are good, they are there to protect, they are there to help. We all know thousands of rules in our everyday life, and most of them serve their particular purpose. Most of them have been created to do good things.

The same is true with the Old Testament rules given for the people of God, the people of Israel. The Sabbath rule is one of these. You may work for six days, but the seventh day is for rest. Do not work that day, and do not let your servants work, or even your animals. All have a right to get some rest, to get out of a never ending work process.

Freedom Day …

But there can be conflicts with the rule. What about travel on the seventh day. Is travel work? You can start to ask: what am I allowed to do on the seventh day? With the question you have already lost the purpose of the day. It is meant for healing, not to limit yourself. It is meant as a rule to help you to gain freedom. We all become dependent on goals and activities. This one will free us from the dependence!

Jesus got into a lot of discussion with respect to the Sabbath rules. He took the Sabbath from its original meaning: a day to rest. A day to focus on the origin of life, to look towards the eternal god, the creator, the loving center of the universe. Nothing less! It is not a day strongly regulated by many rules. It is a day of freedom!

Here is one of the discussions on the Sabbath from the Gospel of Luke:

6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. (from Luke 6)

Healing Day …

We should ask ourselves: is the Sabbath helping our own healing? Are we taking it as a day of freedom? Are we searching the Lord, the creator?

There are so many vivid churches around in our countries. We can attend some exciting Sunday morning service. We can meet with others and celebrate, on the Sunday, the seventh day. By the way, it does not matter whether you take the Saturday, the original Jewish Sabbath day, or the Sunday, which the Christian church chose as its day of rest - the day of the resurrection. It does not matter, just take the freedom of the seventh day!

Jesus is not avoiding the conflict. It seems he is searching this conflict. Is that good? In this case, yes. It definitely is good. He is searching the conflict since the whole rule system around the Sabbath has lost its purpose and needs to be regained and refilled from the inside! It needs to discover the freedom and healing which God wants for each and everyone of us, for you, for me, for all. (Roland Potthast) ... further texts